Ah! My license suspension
by zeroIQ
Summary: Urd is well known for getting herself into trouble all the time, which often results in having her license suspended. However, what's going to happen when something goes completely and ends up losing more than just her license? (AU story based on the manga).
1. Chapter 1

Well, as unexpected as it is, I have decided to try and start a little project based on a suggestion I got from ObeliskX for a story that would feature a reverse harem (a female lead with other males around her; unlike the more typical harem settings where are the opposite of that).

For quite a while, I really wanted to write a story about Urd and even though she's far from absent in my other stories, none of them specifically focus on her. So, this project is very different in the aspect that it mainly centers itself around a much smaller cast of characters, compared to what I'm mostly known for writing. Also, this will be far better paced in regards to how fast things happen and hopefully will be easier to get into it because of that.

Generally speaking, this is an AU version of the AMG series, taking place after Keiichi's graduation, but, without any of the series' events taking place. No wishes, no contact with immortals, or anything of that nature.

The biggest warning however, is that this story will feature a pairing that's non canon and as such, I must advise those who cannot stand such a thing to avoid reading this story. I have nothing against Belldandy and Keiichi being together; far from it. My other stories are heavily centered around that pairing and I have no intention to change that there. This, however, is an AU story that's not going to focus on Urd's sisters and as such, I've felt that it wouldn't be a problem for Keiichi to potentially end up with another. Normally, I'd avoid including such a spoilerish comment, but, I'm fully aware that pairings are a huge matter for most fans and I don't want to upset anyone who would start reading this without that knowledge.

Finally, I'd like to note that due to the fact that I've already have two other stories that I try to update on a regular basis, this one will unfortunately see a less frequent schedule of updates. However, despite that, I intend to keep it going and I'd never abandon it without any warning. So, for those who might happen to like this, please be patient while I'm working on it.

I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

* * *

 _ **"Goddess second class, first category, limited license, Urd.**_

 _ **Due to your reckless actions during what was supposed to be a routine maintenance of the subsystem, five servers went offline and an even more extensive repairs of the remaining ones are now needed. As a direct result of that, you're getting a fifty year license suspension and will have to remain in Midgard until your penance is over.**_

 _ **I have spoken."**_

XXX

 _Nekomi, Japan_

"Waitress! I said that I wanted my coffee black! This has creamer in it!"

Gritting her teeth, the newest employee of one of Nekomi's busiest cafes tried to maintain her cool as she dealt with the annoying customer who had already complained about the crumbled cookies that were served along with his coffee. "Please forgive my mistake, sir. I'll get you another cup."

Retrieving the fourth wrong order for today's shift, the bronze skinned waitress was almost certain that not only those indecisive morons were doing it on purpose to get an extra order for free, but, in the end she was going to listen to that unfeeling drone who acted as the shop's manager go on and on about how she was supposed to do her job.

'Yeah right, he realized that it had creamer _after_ he drank nearly a third of it... And he had a problem with the cookies too! That son of a...'

In all honesty, she wasn't entirely sure which was worse; the customers who kept annoying her like that or those who tried to flirt with her every time she tried to take their orders. Ever since she started working here nearly a month ago, her popularity had skyrocketed among the students of this college city, who wanted to check the exotic beauty with a body that made most models look like runts in comparison. However, that did little to amuse her as the constant attempts to get her phone number or even ask her directly for a date had started to get on her nerves, especially with that old coot of a manager admonishing her for wasting time by chatting with the customers instead of being more efficient.

Truth to be told, the platinum haired woman was utterly sick of this place and if it wasn't for the somewhat decent pay, she would've quit days ago. None of her coworkers were particularly friendly towards her, although, she suspected that it wasn't anything personal, but, their fear of getting scolded by that devil of a manager who wouldn't even let them talk to each other unless it was strictly part of their work. It was no wonder that most other waitresses quit within a couple of months and that was actually how she got her position when another girl decided that she no longer wanted to work in a place where the staff was treated like soulless machines.

'Wish I could get better job, too… Having to smile like an idiot all the time is starting to get on my nerves. And… _Whoa!..._ '

As brief as it was, the sensation of having someone pat her bottom was more than enough to make her spin around to see who had the nerve to pull such a stunt and found a middle aged man in a boring dark gray costume who immediately pulled away from her. It wasn't just the fact that she didn't ignore it, but the sheer intensity of her stare was more than enough to make him wish he had never attempted that in the first place.

Slamming the tray she was carrying on his table with enough force to make the cups on it rattle and nearly fall over, the platinum haired woman snarled at the offending customer as she grabbed him by the front of his collar and lifted him up almost effortlessly with one hand, making both him and the others around them gawk at the sight in shock.

"Where the _hell_ do you think you are? In a cabaret?"

Struggling to come up with a response as the buxom woman shook him like a ragdoll, the commotion she caused eventually got not only the other customers' attention, but the rest of the staff as well and more importantly, the manager.

"Miss Urd! What do you think you're doing?! You can't treat a valuable customer like that! Release him at once!"

Turning to the portly old man who was readjusting his glasses after what must've felt like a marathon for him as he rushed to save the offender instead of the victim, Urd had no desire to remain polite after everything that happened. It was ridiculous enough that he was making them work around the clock like machines, but, to try and defend a scumbag only because he was making money out of him was unforgivable. "Release him? Instead of calling the police, you want to make it seem that nothing had happened at all? What's next? Apologize to him?"

"The police? Don't be ridiculous! I don't want people think that this is an ill reputed place!" countered the manager, holding his ground, despite the stern and even scary expression on her face.

"It's all money to you, isn't it? You filthy cur?" spat Urd as she set the middle aged man down. However, before anyone could even blink she promptly smashed her forehead against the wide eyed molester, sending him sprawling on the floor.

" _That's it! You're fired! Get out of here this instance and never come back!_ " shouted the shaking manager as he pointed towards the exit, astonished by the defiance of this woman who didn't even try to apologize for her rudeness towards him.

"Screw you! I quit!" Proudly flipping him the bird, Urd took her apron off and tossed it right on the fuming manager's face, as she marched towards the exit. "I'm not going to work for a scumbag to the likes of you!"

"You… You!... Ungrateful wench! I should sue you for assaulting my…" Stopping abruptly when he noticed a young man standing next to him, the manager tried to put an apologetic look on his face. "P-Please… don't be disturbed by this rude woman… I assure you that our shop is a ve-.."

His sentence was cut short when he failed to produce any more sound, making the portly man panic as he couldn't understand what was going on; other than something was terribly wrong here.. And while the worried manager struggled to get a grip of the situation, the man with the dark blue hair simply ignored him as he tried to track the goddess who just left the shop. Letting a sigh he headed towards the exit as well, he left the manager behind without any care for his soundless pleas for help. It was only after he too left the shop that the portly man was able to talk once again, but either way, he was totally irrelevant to him at that point; his message had come across and even if the mortal failed to learn anything, he had temporarily stopped him from making any more noise.

'The nerve of that human! Treating his workers like trash… Now where did she go?'

Scanning the streets with his blue eyes, the man disappeared into the crowd, in hopes to find the goddess.

XXX

"No… no… just no…"

Throwing the newspaper away in frustration, Urd had had it. None of the jobs she tried to get were actually remotely interesting or even capable of providing her with the much needed income to keep paying for her rent.

It was utterly confusing for her, but the bronze skinned woman had real trouble to recollect anything prior of waking up in this apartment several weeks ago with very little idea of who she was or what she doing here at all. Other than her name and the fact that she appeared to be from a foreign land, Urd no other piece of information about herself and a tiny amount of money to cover her initial expenses.

In the first couple of days, she contemplated to go to the authorities and ask for help, although, the lack of any ID or other official papers made her rather reluctant. For all practical purposes she could not prove that she was either a Japanese citizen or had the right to be there, legally at least. As such, Urd had wisely decided to keep a low profile and simply find a job to support herself.

Unfortunately, that also lead to a big problem, as she had no way to certify her level of education and create a CV for herself. As a matter of fact, while she was fairly knowledgeable about all types of medicine and even skilled with computers, lacking an official degree from any university or college it was all but impossible for her to make others accept her application for positions that required those skills. Instead, Urd was restricted to the types of jobs that didn't need any degree and within the first few days she got herself a position as a waitress; not the fanciest of things she could do, but at least, it paid the bills.

Of course, after that incident almost a week ago, there was no way she would go back and try to find another cafe or even a restaurant to work. Urd had despised the looks she was getting from all those college students and their silly efforts to court her, and those jobs also tended to provide her with little money; especially since her customers left few tips and yet an abundance of notes with their phone numbers.

'What a bunch of losers… As if I'd date them for no apparent reason. Or they just think that because I like to show a bit more skin, I'm an easy girl who drops her panties at a moment's notice. Yeah… right.'

Sadly for her, the hunt for the ideal job was becoming more like a wild goose chase, since she had not found a single decent place that would take her without any sort of degree or waiting on a ridiculously long list for an interview; only to be politely shot down. Well, there a few places where those interviewers were rather interested, however, it was _her_ who decided that she wished to have nothing to do with them. Desperate or not, Urd had no delusions that those men wanted her not as a saleswoman, but, as a personal entertainer of sorts and that was simply out of question.

The real issue though was that she was on a deadline; one that was rapidly approaching as her budget was nearly gone and in a week's time, she'd have to pay the rent; something that she could no longer afford anymore. During such desperate times, Urd had even contemplated to work as a model, but… after being told that she had to lose some weight in order to fit the ridiculous standards of that industry, the amnesiac woman felt way more offended than frustrated. There was absolutely nothing with her figure from her perspective, although the ones she contacted probably wanted a walking skeleton, rather than a sexy, sensual lady.

'Their loss… And the nerve of that old coot… asking whether my breasts were real or not… Just because she looks like a shriveled prune doesn't mean that there aren't any naturally attractive women out there.'

There _was_ a particular type of modeling position that she could easily score, though. However, getting a job as an adult actress was a far too undesirable for her and as a result, it became an absolutely last resort option should everything else fail and even then, Urd was rather reluctant. She was by no means a shy person and most of the outfits she wore reflected that aspect of her personality. Still, Urd also possessed a rather strong sense of pride and having to resort to something she personally considered as demeaning was so far from acceptable that she had to no desire to give it a try. In her opinion, her attractive looks were part of who she truly was, not something to be used as merchandise.

'Hm… a bike shop is in need for a saleswoman? Well… there seems to be no other requirements, so, maybe I'll go and take a look? If it's not owned by a totally perverted old man, I might give it a try. First things first, I need a hot shower and then something nice to wear for tomorrow.'

Content that she had a plan for the next day, Urd decided to make sure that she was presentable for the upcoming visit on her aspiring workplace, even if she knew little about bikes and other kinds of vehicles. Truth to be told, if she wasn't facing the possibility of getting evicted, that advertisement would've never caught her eye as a potential opportunity.

Writing down the address in a piece of paper, Urd headed for the bath, hoping that this time she was going to be a bit more lucky for a change.

XXX

'Uh… What in the name of… Is this a shop or a shipping container?'

Blinking as she stood in front of the so called 'Whirlwind,' Urd was starting to see why there were absolutely no requirements for this position. The... shop, for a lack of a better word, was just a tiny business and worse, the prospect of getting a good salary was most likely a dream by now.

Yet despite her disappointment and desire to go back to her apartment and start searching for a different job, Urd decided to knock the door. After all, time was running out and she was one day closer for having her landlord ask her for the rent.

"Welcome to Whirlwind! Is there anything I can get for you, miss?"

Staring at the brunette, Urd was rather surprised to find a woman instead of a guy in a place like this. Actually, the shop while tiny, it was in a much better state than most grease covered and dirty workplaces out there; indicating a female touch that was often missing from such kinds of businesses.

"Uh… I'm here for the saleswoman position," said the goddess with some reluctance, unsure whether she was talking at the right person or not. "My name's Urd and I was wondering if I could work here."

"Oh! I never thought we'd get someone asking for the position already! Pleased to meet you, I'm Fujimi Chihiro, the owner of this shop," said the brunette businesswoman, offering her hand to the goddess who shook it with a small smile. "And the guy working on that bike in that corner is Keiichi Morisato."

"Huh?" Following her gaze, the bronze skinned lady noticed the shop's only other worker who paused to see what was going on. "Oh, sorry, I didn't notice you."

"That's okay… I must admit that I was a bit too busy to notice you as well," said Keiichi with a chuckle as he wondered what a beautiful woman like her was doing in their shop. Clearly, given the way she was dressed, with her high heels and her tight minidress, he doubted that she was a bike enthusiast, since that attire was unsuitable for driving anything other than a car. Of course, she could always be here for the salary, although, if that was the case, he seriously didn't expect her to stay for long. There was a reason why Chihiro didn't post too much information about that position; the pay was really low and despite her claims they already had four candidates showing up, only to leave after they heard how much they were going to get paid.

Offering a friendly nod as she noticed that for once, someone looked at her eyes when talking to her, Urd turned back to Chihiro to learn more details. "So, I trust that the position is still available?"

"Yes, that's right! You'll have to take over the sales for me, which would give me the opportunity to focus more on helping Keiichi-kun over there with the actual work that needs to be done around here," said Chihiro with a smile."The hourly salary is 450 Yen, and we're open six days a week for a normal eight hour shift."

Urd had to put a considerable amount of effort to avoid wincing at the sound of that. As a matter of fact, her previous job offered her nearly twice as much, tips included. On one hand, the bronze skinned goddess liked the environment so far, since Chihiro and Keiichi appeared to be good people. However, it was going to be really painful to cover all her expenses with such a tiny amount of money and she had to make a tough decision; whether to take the job or simply walk away hoping to get a better offer somewhere else. 'I don't like the sound of that salary, but, time is running out. I only have a few more days to find a job and… Oh… let's get this over with!'

"I guess I'll be working here from now on!"

"Excellent! I hope you're going to enjoy your new job, Urd!" Smiling brightly, Chihiro was really happy that her business was finally expanding. It had been already a year since she opened her shop and while they had a decent amount of clients so far, they needed a lot more before they would be able to become truly successful.

"Yes, congratulations, Urd-san. I guess I'll be the only guy here from now on," said Keiichi jokingly, as he tried to figure out why she accepted the position. 'Maybe she's broke? It's not like I hadn't gone through those phases during the last couple of years...'

"Please… Urd-san is too formal for my liking. Just call me Urd and we'll get together just fine," said the bronze skinned goddess with a wink, making the mechanic blush as he wasn't used to get compliments from girls.

"Uh… t-thanks... Urd…" Scratching the back of his head nervously, Keiichi desperately tried to remind himself that she was merely a person he met only minutes ago, and from this point on, his coworker. It was true that most women he tried to impress, either ignored him or outright dumped him after a date or two for various reasons. Not only he was nearly broke most of the time, but, his tendency to spend countless hours for his hobbies was something that deterred even the most patient of them who wanted him to pay more attention to them, instead of wasting his free time and energy with some crazy project.

That was back when he was still a student at NIT and member of the notorious Motor Club, known for the eccentricity of its directors and all the rest of the crazy schemes they came up with. It was so bad, that the only girl who seriously considered to date him for real, asked him to chose between her and that Club, given how much time and money he devoted for what was actually a hobby in her eyes. And with his reluctance to pick either, his girlfriend had decided that enough was enough and broke up with him, leaving Keiichi rather reluctant to try again anytime soon.

"Okay! I guess it's fine to finish a bit earlier today and celebrate for our new employee!" Grinning from ear to ear, the brunette businesswoman started to prepare for Ur's welcoming party, something that the goddess wasn't really expecting at all.

'Actually… salary aside, this looks like a nice place to work.'

XXX

"Are you sure you can go home on your own?"

Chuckling, Urd turned to the dark haired mechanic who was already preparing to start his bike's engine. It was extremely rare to see one with a sidecar anymore, especially as she wasn't even sure what he needed that attachment for; being single and all. Despite that, it appeared that he took great care of his BMW, as it was nearly as if it just rolled out the assembly line despite its apparent age. On the other hand, his attempt to _help_ her was a bit too obvious. "That's fine, Keiichi. My apartment isn't that far from here, actually. I'll be there in a couple of minutes, so, you don't have to worry about anything."

"No, I meant… You drank a whole bottle of sake and… Are you feeling okay?" asked the blushing man, suddenly realizing that she might've mistaken his offer as a cheesy way to court her.

"Oh! About that? I can drink a lot more and have no ill effects!" Urd had never considered that he probably expected her to get drunk. Although she had seen others get tipsy or even plastered with a single bottle of booze, even the strongest stuff couldn't phase her and that puzzled her. Sure, she got a buzz after a few glasses, but, it wasn't like anything she had seen from others and even more, she never got a hangover.

"Really? Sorry, since I rarely drink… you know… I'm what you might call a lightweight. Of course, that's mostly because I like to drive whenever I can and as such, I avoid alcohol. Others often teased me for following the law to the letter, but, I'd rather avoid an accident if I can do something about it," said Keiichi as he put his helmet on, before he added with a chuckle. "In that case, I guess you don't need me to take you home."

"Wait!... I never said that getting there faster is a bad thing." Feeling that the man was sincere and not just another con artist who just wanted to get into her panties, Urd decided to give it a try and socialize with him; as long as he didn't get any funny ideas. Sure, he looked cute in a way and all that, but, having to work together with him would make him a bad candidate as a temporary date. And with most of her memory inaccessible, the goddess had no idea if she wanted to have a more serious relationship right now. It was one of the most problematic parts of her current predicament, to be uncertain of who she really was and what she wanted to do with her life.

"Huh?"

Chuckling as she saw the confused look on the mechanic's face, Urd pointed at his sidecar. "I meant that I wouldn't mind taking me home a bit sooner than I'd normally get on my own. Unless it's an inconvenience…"

"No!... After all, I was the one who suggested it! Please climb on, Urd," said Keiichi with a smile as he suddenly frowned. "Um… Unfortunately, I don't have a helmet for you right now, but, I hope we won't get into trouble for that."

"Oh? So, mister _Upholding Citizen_ is going to break the law for me? Interesting..." teased Urd as she got onto the sidecar and made herself comfortable; as much as she possibly could, given how little space there was for her.

"It's… well… I honestly forgot about that for a moment, and…" fumbled Keiichi, as he turned towards her and instantly regretted it. Given her position on the sidecar and her current attire, the dark haired man got a really nice glimpse of her cleavage; an even better one, as the strapless minidress didn't hide her flesh from anyone who looked at her from such an angle. Blushing, Keiichi was really glad that his helmet was obscuring most of his face and prevented her from seeing how red he actually got. It was embarrassing for a grown man to act like a young boy whenever he got a pretty girl next to him, and Urd was more that sexy enough to get his attention.

"That's okay. Like I said, it's not really that far from here, so, it's unlikely that we're going to get caught or something." Grinning, the bronze skinned goddess was actually enjoying this quite a bit and for a moment she wondered what her true self was like. On one hand, it was extremely entertaining for her to tease others, while on other hand, she was rather reluctant to go too far with just everyone she met. Maybe she was simply a mischievous person and not a nymphomaniac, but, without her memories, all she could do was to speculate about her past.

Although, the biggest question for the goddess was the present. As she watched her new coworker drive her home, she pondered just how far it was fair to tease him. While it was hilarious to watch his reactions, it was a bit cruel to keep going like that forever; and after a certain point, he'd begin to think that she's simply making fun of him. So, either she had to stop doing that, or, offer the boy a chance to get something more than just a glimpse of her cleavage, which brought her back to her lost memories.

'How long _is_ that going to last, anyway? I thought that maybe I'll begin to remember things after a few days, but… there's still no change. In that case… I really don't want to wait forever to figure out what to do with my life. Sure… I might even have a family for all I know, but… How can I be sure? I can't remember a thing!... Ugh!... what a mess...'

The amnesiac goddess' thoughts were interrupted as the bike came to a stop, despite they were still not anywhere close to her apartment. Wondering if she gave him the wrong address or the young man simply heard wrong, Urd turned to him with a baffled look on her face. "Is there something wrong, Keiichi? This isn't my place, or is this where you live?"

"No… it's just that… For a moment I thought I've seen the same person twice," said the equally confused mechanic, as he tried to peek over his shoulder. "I could've sworn that there was a man over at that alley that he looked exactly the same with another one I've seen not far from Whirlwind."

"Maybe he's heading in the same direction with us?" suggested Urd as she followed his gaze, only to find nobody.

"On foot? I mean, it's not like I'm speeding, but, it's still very hard for anyone to keep up with us like that. And I'm certain that I'm not going in circles either," said Keiichi as he shook his head and started to drive towards her apartment once again. "I'm probably too tired and my eyes are playing tricks with me."

"That's probably the case. Unless, you happened to see two identical twins," said Urd with a giggle, as she relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the ride, which didn't last for more than a couple of minutes. Neither of them said much at that short period of time, not that they were in a rush. Tomorrow they'd spend a full shift in Whirlwind and there should be more than enough chances for some chit chat, which was exciting prospect for Urd.

'At least I'm no longer working for that old coot. I can interact with others, instead of acting as if I'm a freaking robot. This is going to fun!'

XXX

"So… you were both members of the Motor club?"

"Actually, Chihiro-san is the founder of the club and had already graduated by the time I was a freshman at NIT. It was my sempai who knew her and at some point she returned to Nekomi to meet them," said Keiichi as he sipped from his hot tea, during the lunch break. With their boss out of town to meet some new suppliers for bike parts, he took the liberty to provide the curious goddess with the information she wanted.

"Interesting… and you sempai? I've never heard about them," said Urd, as she tried to get more details.

"Two oversized buffs, called Tamiya and Otaki. Quite the eccentric lot, given how bizarre and silly their antics typically were; causing us quite the trouble back then," said Keiichi with a chuckle. "They're still in Nekomi and even opened a garage for making all kinds of customized bikes."

"I see. Although, I remember hearing something about a sister," said Urd with a grin, as she leaned forward, causing the man to turn red as her top struggled to contain her bust and prevent a wardrobe malfunction.

"That would be Megumi, and she still needs a year until she graduates from NIT's engineering department." Averting his gaze higher to avoid getting even more embarrassed than he currently was, Keiichi was unsure whether having her around was a good or a bad thing. It was nice to have someone other Chihiro to talk to for a change, but, with her sexy body and revealing attire, it was very hard for him to focus on his work. Worse, he was uncertain whether she was doing it on purpose or she was simply a playful character, and asking her about it was probably a bad idea.

"Girlfriends?" That was a question that surprised both Keiichi and even Urd herself, despite the fact that she was the one who said it. Most people would've found it improper to ask something like that to a person they just met a day previously. It was a subject generally reserved for conversations between close friends and even then, it was atypical for members of opposite sexes to discuss about relationships.

"Um… may I ask why?"

"I'm sorry! That was probably way too personal," said Urd with an apologetic look. "It's just that I tend to be very… let's say _friendly_ around others and on one instance, a coworker's girlfriend got the wrong idea and nearly broke up with him. Mind telling you that we simply exchanged a few words every now and then between lunch breaks, but… she wasn't so happy about that."

"Oh… Well, you won't have such a problem with me," said Keiichi with a chuckle, trying to lighten up the mood and reassure her that he wasn't really offended by her question. "I never really had many to begin with. Most girls thought I was too dorky and short for their taste. Plus, I always had an empty wallet and spent way too much time with my hobbies and paid little attention to everything else."

"And that's a problem, because?" Blinking, Urd could see why some of those issues could be taken as serious problems, but at the same time, she couldn't understand why they avoided him in such a fashion.

"Because girls found that to be a bad thing?" In all honesty, Keiichi was at a loss as why she didn't just agree with that viewpoint. As a matter of fact, he had no idea how to explain something that was considered to be obvious for most.

"A man is a lot more than a walking wallet, Keiichi. It's a bit sad to assume that every woman out there is going to be swayed with shiny trinkets and other types of gifts," said Urd with a shake of her head. "Sure, I'm not oblivious how most others want to have a tall, handsome and rich boyfriend, but… none of the above takes his personality into consideration. To be blunt about it, physical appearance alone is good only if you're looking for sex, and money just by itself is for gold diggers who want to get it easy by dating someone with a fat wallet. Each has its appeal, but neither is the base of a relationship, if we want to honest with ourselves."

"I… won't argue with you… Still, most girls I know don't think that's the case. Like I said, I'm short and…" started Keiichi, before he was interrupted by the goddess.

"Yes, I kind of noticed that, already. So? It's not like you're ugly or something along those lines; far from it. Also, like I said, money is a strong motivation, but, it has little to do with the real you. What's left was the issue about your hobbies, which in reality has a lot to do with your personality. In that case, if the one you date cannot understand what you like, then it's probably a good hint that she may not agree with you on other subjects as well," explained Urd with a sigh. "Simply put, you're not compatible with each other."

"Huh? That's really different from what I've thought…" said the confused mechanic as he scratched his head.

"I'm sure that my viewpoints aren't extremely popular, so, I'm not surprised at all," said Urd with a casual shrug. "In the end it's a matter of priorities and what you wish to get. I'm not a prude, and while you might get the wrong idea… sex isn't such a big deal for me. At least, I don't think so; given that I remember next to nothing about my past. Anyway, the point is that I don't have issues to just have my fun without the need for a relationship; especially one that only existed for such a purpose. It probably clashes with some people's definition of ethics, however, I'd rather avoid getting involved with someone just to satisfy my basic needs."

Keiichi couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable with this kind of conversation, since he rarely talked about relationships with any of his friends. Bikes and other vehicles were amongst their favorite topics, aside from ways to gain money for funding their projects and keep the Motor Club going. The only person who actually brought these kind of topics up was Megumi, but, in most cases she ended up teasing her brother instead of providing some useful insight about the fair sex. As a result, Keiichi had absolutely no idea how to respond to Urd, although, his blush was already betraying his embarrassment. "Umm… that's nice and…"

Giggling as she watched him turn red, Urd decided that the poor man had more than enough already and decided to give him a break. "Sorry… That was probably a bit too forward. I don't think that you're supposed to talk about these matters with someone you only know for two days…"

"No… I guess it would've made no difference even if we knew each other for a while," said Keiichi, scratching his head. "I'm not really used to talk about that kind of stuff with others and most of my personal experiences from relationships weren't all that great, either."

"I don't blame you, to be honest. After having no luck for such a long time, most would get a bit reluctant to try again. Tell you what… if I manage to stay here for long enough, I might give you a chance to get lucky and have some," said Urd with a wink.

Unfortunately, at that very moment Keiichi was having a sip from his tea to calm his nerves and ended up choking as he nearly spit it out. Bumping his fist against his chest to send the liquid down the right pipe, the young mechanic stared at the goddess with wide eyes, as his blush intensified. " _W-W-What?!..._ "

"Oh, come on! Don't be such a prude, Keiichi! We're not living in the middle ages or something like that. There's a thing called _friends with benefits_ , although, I'd rather avoid that option to be honest," said Urd, who was now starting to think that she might've done a horrible mistake by making that proposition. Not only she was dealing with a shy young man who might've gotten the wrong impression about her, but, she had no idea if he was the right person to ask such a thing. What he probably needed was a nice, stable relationship and at the moment, without even knowing who she really was, Urd was unsure if she wanted to get involved with him or not; at least for more than a single night.

"I guess that's for the best. I mean… I appreciate the thought and all, but… I doubt that short guys like me are dating material for you," said Keiichi with a frown. Part of himself was arguing that wasting such an opportunity was simply stupid, as he'd never get another one from anyone as beautiful as her. Still, it was too sudden and worse, he had a feeling that his pretty coworker might've actually felt sorry for him. And no matter how tempting, that wasn't the best way to get a date; even a temporary one.

"Honestly? I don't think you're not cute enough by my standards. The real problem is that I don't remember much about myself and… That makes me a bit reluctant to start something that might end poorly when my memory returns and I suddenly realize that I'm a very different person than I currently think," admitted Urd. "Also, I don't have many friends here and I don't want to waste the chance to have one by sleeping with him. Nothing personal of course! Sometimes… even when we have good intentions, people can get really upset when you tell them that you might not be looking for a permanent relationship and… Let's just say that it doesn't end well."

"Um… Did that happen to you before?" asked Keiichi with some reluctance. He was fairly certain that this wasn't the right thing to bring up, but so far, this conversation was very different from any other he previously had and the goddess' comments had inevitable made him rather curious about her personality. Not only she looked different, but, her attitude had nothing in common with any other woman he knew and as a result, he wanted to know more about who she really was.

"Pff! Several times already, and that's during the short period of time I've been in Nekomi," said Urd with a disgusted expression. "There are all kind of morons who thought that offering me a drink means that I'm obligated to let them have their way with me; and they even had the nerve to get upset when I said no. One guy in particular even tried to _drag_ me to a nearby love hotel after having a cup of tea with him. The nerve of that bastard!..."

"For real?! I mean… that's ridiculous!" said Keiichi as his eyes went wide. "You should've called the police!"

"No need. I tossed him to a nearby wall hard enough to knock him unconscious," said Urd with a gleam in her eyes that made Keiichi blink as he thought that he actually saw her pupils become like a cat's for a moment.

Shaking his head to dismiss the silly thought, the young mechanic made a mental note to avoid angering his new coworker, since she was apparently stronger than he would've given her credit for. "At least, he didn't got what he wanted…"

"Oh, that's for sure! And after that debacle, I've avoided talking to anyone I didn't know, let alone accept any invitations to have a drink with them. Even coworkers are a bit of a problem, since it could make things really awkward from that point on. You know… despite what I've said earlier… Hm... now that I think of it… I'm probably more picky than most ' _good'_ girls out there. Kind of ironic, don't you think?"

"Well, I guess so!" replied Keiichi as he started to laugh. "I kind of thought that you must've a lot more… dates, based on what you just told me."

"That's for sure! I tend to scrutinize everyone I want to date to make sure that they're not going to ask too much, or they're simply idiots and in the end I typically reject most of them. Even one of my neighbors gets more action, and she's a married woman, too," said Urd with a giggle. "Although, none of that is with her husband… And she looks like the most reserved woman you'd ever meet. The little minx even blushes when I walk by, since my clothes are apparently showing off too much skin. What a paragon of morality!..."

"Eh? No way!" It felt very strange for him to talk about something that resembled those conversations girls typically had, but, in a way he enjoyed Urd's sense of humor. While attractive, she didn't have this air of superiority around her and even better, she didn't made fun of him for trying to talk to her. Of course, there were several mysteries around her, with her lost memories being the biggest by far; however, there was nothing he could do about that, other than hope that this was her real personality.

"You bet! Such an innocent looking housewife and she's cheating on her husband like she's a cat in heat," said Urd, as she finished her own tea. "Ruins my beauty sleep with her moans every time her hubby is on a business trip; which happens a lot. Anyway... I think we need to get back to work before Chihiro comes back and finds us chatting like that."

"Huh?" Checking his watch, Keiichi was shocked just how long their lunch break had lasted and decided that he had to get busy once again. "Oh wow! I guess we'll have to continue this some other time… I've got a bike that needs a new fuel line."

"No worries, Keiichi. I'll be over by the counter if you need me."

XXX

Crashing on her sofa, Urd was more than happy to watch some of her favorite soap operas after a full day's of work. There was nothing more rewarding than relaxing and having a nice drink while thinking about everything she experienced so far; a welcome change compared to the rather indifferent and boring job she used to have. Not only Chihiro and Keiichi were far more lively and… human than her past manager who only cared about the customers or rather how much more money he could make out of them, but, even their clients were far more respectful to her.

Sure, her good looks didn't go unnoticed by them, however, so far there were no attempts to shamelessly flirt or harass her in any way. And that was exactly what the goddess secretly wanted; to get them intrigued but at the same time, remember that she was also a person, not some kind of merchandise they could somehow attain.

There was only one, albeit large problem that troubled Urd and no matter how much she tried to be optimistic, it was something that couldn't be totally ignored. Doing some basic calculations, it was more than obvious that the disparity between her current and previous salary would most certainly impact her life, especially when it came to sensitive matter of her rent.

With only a couple of days until the end of the month, Urd was now sure that there was absolutely no chance for her to find the money to pay it in full. Even if she tried to persuade the landlord to allow only a partial payment, since she had lost her job during the last couple of days and had to waste time searching for another, it would've extremely difficult to pay the next month's rent; without even taking into consideration the remainder of the current month's payment.

All in all, she had found herself in a pretty difficult situation and the only logical way to solve it was either to ask Chihiro for a generous raise or find a part time job to increase her income. Unfortunately, both were pretty unlikely to happen, since she was just employed at Whirlwind and asking her boss for something like that so soon would definitely get a negative response and worse, it could simply annoy Chihiro, making her think that she got the wrong person for this job. On the other hand, while finding a part time job while feasible, it was impractical based on the sheer lack of free time.

Urd only had a single day off a week, and working after her shift was all but impossible. There were few businesses that stayed open that late, unless of course she tried some of the less reputable establishments in Nekomi. Nightclubs for example opened at a much later time than most other businesses and finding a job there would be relatively easy for her. However, that could also put her in a far worse position even compared to her past job as a waitress and she most certainly would have to stay up so late that it was going to be really hard to stay awake the next day.

'That sucks! Just as I thought my problems were over, I'm close to being back at square one… There's no way to convince Tananka-san to lower the rent and I can't find a second job. The freaking day just doesn't have more than twenty four hours! What a pain… Now I'll have to look for an apartment too. Great… just what I needed… Where am I supposed to find a place that's so cheap, I could… Wait! Keiichi's getting the same salary and he most likely had to face the same problem. I'll ask him tomorrow and see if he knows a place I could afford with that little amount of money!'

Happy that she had a plan for now, Urd decided to relax and stop worrying, hoping that, Keiichi would provide her with the invaluable information she needed. Without that, she'd be stuck with the local real estate business and possibly another long and frustrating struggle to find a new place to live.

'I bet tomorrow will be a great day.'

XXX


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

* * *

"You need a place to stay? That's going to be rough…"

Looking at Urd while he installed a new front disc brake for one of their clients' bikes, Keiichi didn't feel envious of her. Finding a place to live with such a restricted budget was more than tricky; it was downright brutal.

"Well, it's not like I can do much about it," said Urd, making sure that Chihiro was still talking to a customer over the phone. "Right now, I don't think that I can afford my rent, so… I thought you might know where I can find a nice apartment."

"Actually, it took me a while to solve that problem too," said Keiichi as he leaned closer to whisper to the platinum haired goddess. "With our salary, most apartments are far too expensive, so, I had to keep searching for a few weeks while I was still a student. I knew that it was going to problem and I started early while I stayed at the dorm. And it was only after a long while that I got that apartment I'm living at a reasonable enough deal. Sure, the landlady is kind of… difficult, but, I couldn't possibly get a better rent."

"Oh great… I only have a few days, not weeks," said Urd with a frustrated sigh. "What am I going to do now? I was expecting for some good news, but…"

"Well, I suppose I could help you, if you want. You can stay in my apartment until you find another place to live." Given how spontaneous the offer actually was, Keiichi didn't think about the implications of what he just said. It was only after he noticed the sly grin on the goddess' face that his brain connected the dots and realized that asking a woman to share an apartment with him could be taken in a very different way than he intended; and Urd was perfectly aware of it.

"Mm… I like the sound of that… Keiichi…" leaning even closer to the young mechanic, the Norn of the past smiled as she watched him fidget around nervously, unable to contain his embarrassment. Even though she knew him for a just few days, she was certain that he meant well and had nothing… dirty in mind; which was exactly why she wished to tease him about it. "It can solve my problem and we can get to know each other better. Much… better."

Nearly choking as she began to unzip her top, exploiting the fact that she had her back turned to their boss, Keiichi found himself in a very difficult spot. Part of his mind wished to immediately tell her to stop, yet, another part advised against it, as it would most certainly draw Chihiro's attention to them; that's what his excuse was, anyway. "W-What are you… d-doing?"

"Who, me? Nothing much, it's just that it kind of feels a bit hot in here," said the goddess as she kept going until she stopped shy from the point of no return; the very limit of how much she could go without causing a wardrobe malfunction. And with her chest dangerously close of getting out of its bounds, Urd smiled as she noticed the terribly embarrassed and yet quite intrigued mechanic, whose brain had come to a halt.

"It's still a bit… hot in... here," agreed Keiichi with a slow nod, his eyes totally focused on a part of her anatomy that he honestly didn't want to stare; although his body refused to listen. In all seriousness, he wished he could hide somewhere as the next thing he was expecting was either a resounding slap or being called a pervert and getting laughed at. Since neither of that happened, the awkward silence that followed was too much for the mortal man to stand and he shyly gazed upwards from his seated position in front of the bike to look at Urd's face once again; and much to his surprise, she didn't seem to be upset. 'Well… come to think of it, she did it on her own, right? Although… What if she wanted to see if I was a pervert? She probably thinks that, now. I mean, I did ask her to stay in my house just like that and the first chance I had, I end up checking her bust. I'm really an idiot…'

"Urd!"

Chihiro's cheerful voice snapped both her employees out of this staring match and with a rushed yet fluid motion, the goddess zipped her top to avoid getting caught for fooling around. "Yes?"

"We've got a client with a bike that won't start and I was wondering if you can bring it here to the shop," said Chihiro as she approached her and Keiichi. "Most likely a faulty spark plug, but, I don't want to jump into conclusions and I'd rather take a look on it. Can you go and get it with our mini van?"

"Uh… Actually, I don't have a driver's license," admitted the goddess with some hesitation, fearing that this could make her sound bad. It was something that her boss never asked her when she first applied for the position and now Urd was worried that it was going to be a huge problem. Certainly, she was not going to be very helpful when it came to such kind of tasks.

"Hm… Oh, yeah, I kind of forgot to ask," said Chihiro with a chuckle. "In that case, why don't you give her a hand, Keiichi-kun?"

"Huh? Me?" It sounded a bit dumb to say it like that, given that not only he was the only one with that name around, but also the only other employee as well. Still, the young mechanic was somewhat reluctant to be together with Urd after her little display moments ago. In all fairness, Keiichi didn't dislike her, far from it. However, the platinum haired beauty was an enigma that he could quite understand in any way, and every time he thought he was a step closer to achieve that goal, she proved him wrong.

"Of course! I need to do some work of my own with our suppliers list and that leaves you and Urd to do that," said Chihiro with a wink.

"Okay… We'll be back in a short while, then." Turning towards the exit, Keiichi was rather unsure what to expect from Urd. After all, she seemed to be comfortable enough to tease him while Chihiro was around and once they were alone, who knew what she was truly capable of. As a matter of fact, he wasn't entirely sure what to make of that either. Most guys in his place would've seen that either as an invitation or just an attempt to make fun of them. On the other hand, after the whole conversation they had the other day he didn't consider either as a possibility, since she wasn't as easy as she liked to seem and neither she was mean to him.

As the two of them entered the minivan, Chihiro couldn't help but smile from ear to ear, as she stole a glance at the departing vehicle.

'Oh, this is going to be so great!'

XXX

"Megumi?!"

There was something fishy when Chihiro offered him to go along with Urd and this was probably the reason. Their customer was none other than his own sister, Megumi Morisato, although that fact baffled him even more than he was expecting. "How did you get your KSR broken?"

"Technically, it's not broken, Kei-chan," answered his mischievous sibling as she looked between him and Urd. "I simply have a flat tire. See?"

"Then why did you ask us to pick it up? You're more than capable of changing it," said Keiichi as he stared at the deflated tire in question. "Actually, you could've told us to bring a new one to replace it."

"Oh, come on, Kei-chan! Even Chihiro agreed that it would've been a great opportunity!" said Megumi as she leaned closer to her brother.

"An opportunity to do what?" groaned the tired mechanic who had no idea what his sister was trying to pull this time.

"Meet your girlfriend, what else?"

Keiichi's face lost all color as his brain struggled to connect the dots, even though it was fairly obvious what his troublesome sibling implied. "Wait! I… I don't have a…"

"Nice to meet you! I'm Urd!" Returning the younger woman's smile with one of her own, the goddess extended her hand and was pleased to see that the brunette took it without hesitation.

"I'm this bloke's sister, Megumi Morisato!"

"I know! He actually told me about you," said Urd, offering her a wink. "Although, I wasn't expecting to meet you like that."

"Well, considering that he said nothing about you, I had to ask Chihiro for a favor when she told me the news. If I had to wait for him… I'll probably be an old lady by then…"

'Great… Chihiro thinks that we're a couple as well?' Rubbing his temples, the frustrated mechanic couldn't believe how much more complicated everything became. Not only his boss, but his sister thought that he was in a relationship with the enigmatic foreigner, and Urd didn't even try to deny it.

"No way! You're already going to live under the same roof together? Boy, you're fast!"

Keiichi's thoughts were interrupted when he realized that not only had Urd allowed his sister to think that they were a couple, but, she even revealed that she was going to stay with him too. Of course, that was supposed to be a temporary measure until she found a place of her own, however, the bronze skinned beauty failed to mention that little fact as well. Which obviously led his sister's grin grow even larger as her initial impression of their relationship became even more distorted.

"Way to go Ke-chan! You've already managed to get this far already! And I thought you were too shy!"

"Alright! That's enough, Megumi!" said the tired mechanic, before his sister went ahead and invited their parents to meet his supposedly future wife or anything of that sort. His family was known for exaggerating things and his sister was particularly notorious for doing just that. So, it was better if he stopped her right now and avoid dealing with a really painful situation later; something that Urd probably didn't know that was coming towards them. "We're only friends and she's just teasing you. Apparently she likes that stuff and… the only reason she's going to stay with me is because she's getting the ' _Chihiro salary_ ', which as you already know… isn't all _that_ much. It's nothing permanent though, and I'd like to avoid spreading any stupid rumors. The last thing I need are people teasing me for getting dumped once Urd finds an apartment for herself."

'Ouch… I haven't thought about that…' While the whole situation was funny enough, Urd had forgotten that the implications behind her actions could've caused Keiichi some problems after she found a place for herself. His friends or those who probably thought that they were a couple would indeed see this as being rejected and based on what he told her before, the mechanic had a history with that. As much as she wanted to have fun, the goddess' intention wasn't to unwillingly bring back those memories and alienate the only real friend she made so far. "Actually, he's right. Sorry about that, Megumi, but, it is true that we only know each other for a few days… That's not really enough for _that_ kind of relationship to occur. Still, I'm in a desperate need for a house, or I might end up in the streets…"

"Sorry to hear that, Urd. I knew it was a bit _too_ good to be true, but… a sister can hope, right?" said Megumi with an apologetic smile on her face. Of course, she wasn't all that disappointed, since it was far from over and sometimes situations like this could lead into an actual relationship down the road. "I honestly wish I could help you, but, the dorm only allows students of NIT to stay here. I would get into serious trouble if I tried to let you share my room here."

"That's perfectly fine. Your brother was kind enough to offer me to stay with him until I can find a place I can afford with my new salary," said Urd, shaking her head dismissively. "No need to worry about that, it's not going to be a problem."

"Well, I'm still happy I got to meet you! I guess you're going to hand around Whirlwind, right?" said Megumi with a wink.

"You bet! After all, that's where I work now!" replied the half goddess as she noticed that, Keiichi had already loaded the KSR on the minivan.

"Okay, Megumi. We'll take it to the shop and change the tire for you. You can drop by and pick it up later." Letting a sigh, Keiichi made a mental note to remind himself to ask more about their client's identity, although, he doubted that running into his sister in such a fashion was going to become something too common. Besides, she seemed to accept their explanation and hopefully, she wouldn't cause any problems; or at least, that what he hoped.

XXX

'Seriously… where did I get all those clothes from? It's the fifth freaking suitcase and I'm still not even done!'

Gathering her earthly possessions, Urd was somewhat surprised and baffled at how much she actually owned. Not only she had a few dozen outfits, but, they looked really expensive too. Without any idea as to where they came from or how she even afforded to buy them in the first, place, the Norn of the past did her best to collect everything in order to vacate her apartment as soon as possible.

It was a pain to move all that on her own and as such, Keiichi had volunteered to give her a hand with Chihiro agreeing to let them use Whirlwind's mini van to get everything to his apartment until she could sort her situation out. Thankfully, she owned no appliances or furniture that would've been too hard for the young mechanic to move, but, her clothes alone were a problem that even Urd herself hadn't expected.

Actually, aside from numerous, some of those said outfits were fairly exotic and in several cases even made her blush, given how indecent they were. Still, it was the fact that spending money on something she'd never be able to wear outside of her house, implied that at some point in the past she must've been far wealthier than she currently is. Or at the very least, she had the means to acquire such things that must've cost a fortune and yet they were unusable in most occasions.

'Interesting… If I turn out to be some rich heiress, that's going to be so ironic! I'm practically broke now, although I had no problems buying some of those clothes… or underwear... '

"Urd? Do you have anything else, I need to carry?" asked Keiichi from the apartment's entrance, trying to avoid getting a glimpse of her wardrobe; especially her lingerie. He accidentally saw a bit earlier and that was more that enough embarrassment for a day.

"Yes! I've got a suitcase ready outside my room if you want!" replied Urd as she kept packing her things. "I'm almost done! I've got maybe… one or two suitcases more and we'll be ready to go!"

Humming a cheerful tone as she continued the laborious process of gathering all her possessions, Urd was actually looking forward to have a roommate; especially one as shy as Keiichi.

'This is going to be so much fun! Although… I need to remember not to go too far and scare the poor guy. Maybe just enough to see if he really likes what he sees...'

XXX

"Well, here we are, Urd. I know it's not that much, but, try to make yourself comfortable!"

Staring around her while the dark haired mechanic helped her move her things inside, the half goddess was rather shocked at just how small this place was. Her apartment was by no means huge, but, this one was roughly half of that; which was already not much for a single person to fit in. Aside from the rather small bathroom, there were only two rooms, one being Keiichi's bedroom, while the other was a kitchen and living room combo. All in all, she had trouble trying to figure out just how they'd both live together under these circumstances.

"Uh… Are you really sure I'm not causing a problem? My suitcases alone will take a lot of space, and…" started the goddess before she was interrupted by her new roommate.

"I know that it's far from ideal, but, I can deal with it. After all, back when I was still living in the dorm, I had even less space available, so, you can say that this is an improvement," said Keiichi with a smile.

"Yes, but… that's while you're living on your own. I don't think it's fair for me to cause you all this trouble," said Urd, looking around. "Besides… where am I even going to sleep?"

"Oh, you can use the bedroom while I'll place my futon here in the living room," replied Keiichi, as he pointed to the low table that was in the middle of the room. "I can move that to the side and use the space for my futon, so, no worries."

"What do you mean _no worries?_ I'm the guest here! You shouldn't be the one who gets inconvenienced by all this!" objected the half goddess as she worried that he was a bit _too_ nice for his own good.

"Look… I was the one who made this offer, so, stop thinking too much about it, Urd," said Keiichi as he shook his head. "It's not such a huge problem if I sleep here or in my room. And not to mention that it's much better if you get the bedroom, since you have all those suitcases. There's no closet here, making it much more of a pain to find a decent solution to that problem."

"Hm…" Instead of answering right away, Urd walked into his room and looked around. "Say… it's not big enough, but, I think we can both fit in here."

"Both?!" That single word nearly caused Keiichi's brain to nearly melt down into mush. Trying to remain quiet as he knew that he wasn't in a state to utter anything other than incomprehensible babble, he still had a hard time to accept what his new roommate had suggested. "But!..."

"Oh, give me a break! The kitchen or… living room if you will, is just next to this room. There's no big difference whether you sleep here or there!" countered Urd, crossing her arms. "Unless you're planning to touch me in my sleep. You know… _here_ and _there…_ "

" _No! I don't do such things!_ " objected Keiichi his face turning bright red, as he watched the goddess trace a line with her fingers from her buxom chest to her shapely hips.

"Then stop complaining and act like a mature adult, instead of a hormone induced teenager!" said Urd with a wink, as she began the laborious process of moving her suitcases to his room, much to Keiichi's chagrin.

"Very well then… Let me help you with those things…" said the dark haired mechanic, lowering his head in defeat. There was absolutely no point to keep arguing with her anymore, and the only thing that he hoped was that his new roommate would behave and avoid teasing him any further.

'Well… A man can dream, right?...'

XXX

A couple of hours later, after they've managed to arrange everything for both of them to live in the same apartment and even had a simple dinner consisting of instant noodles; the moment Keiichi feared so much had finally arrived. It was about time for them to go to sleep and no matter how much he tried to remain calm, the young man couldn't help but feel his heartbeat increase as he approached his bedroom.

The last time he found himself in a similar situation was several years ago when some relatives came for a visit to his parent's home and he had to share a room with Megumi in order for them to have a place to sleep as well. Of course, that was the only similarity between this and that incident, as Urd wasn't his sister and they were far from children.

His mind couldn't get past the fact that he was sharing the same sleeping quarters with a grown woman, and a pretty attractive one at that. Additionally, given how revealing her clothes tended to be, he was absolutely terrified to find out what her nightwear looked like; providing that she even bothered to wear any in the first place.

Trying to save himself from a most embarrassing situation, Keiichi placed his futon as close to the nearby wall as possible and decided to stare towards the featureless white space, instead of the other direction and risk seeing things that he wasn't mentally prepared for. Namely, Urd's sleeping form in all of her potentially undressed state, something that could probably be too much for him right now.

And to make matters even worse, she had taken a bath right before she went to to sleep and the sweet scent of her shampoo was beckoning him to turn around. Even the rustling sound of her covers made him wonder if what he was hearing happened to be her bare skin rubbing against the futon's covers.

This torture continued for nearly two whole hours and as his alarm clock displayed '2:14 am' on its red LCD display, Keiichi was still fully awake. He couldn't really blame Urd, though, since she hadn't attempted teasing him or made any kind of scene at all. It was totally his fault and all those years of being alone that made him wish to get a fleeting glimpse of her sleeping form and no matter how much he hated to admit it, a part of his mind wished that her covers weren't concealing too much.

'What am I thinking?! I mean, she looks nice, but, I was the one complaining about her teasing! Now… I'm just like a perverted old man!...'

Shaking his head Keiichi forced his eyes shut and hoped that soon enough he would finally go to sleep and avoid becoming a letch and trying to exploit this situation for the sake of satisfying his less… noble impulses. Yet no matter how much he wanted to silence that voice at the back of his head, it kept whispering to him like a siren, beckoning him to take a glance; just for a second.

While struggling to fight off his personal demons, Keiichi opened his eyes once more and much to his surprise there was an eerie glow coming for behind him. Not bright enough to consider it as something akin to a nightlight and yet impossible to be the moonlight, as the window was at the other end of the room. As a matter of fact, it almost seemed like it was coming from Urd's general direction and the curious mortal decided that this was an honorable reason to look over his shoulder and see what was going on; unlike his previous wishes of peeping on her.

What he saw was something far beyond his expectations or even, his imagination. A winged woman, for the lack of a better description, was floating above the sleeping form of Urd in tranquil silence, emitting an otherworldly glow. And while she was nearly naked with a simple piece of fabric wrapped around her body in a gravity defying manner, Keiichi was far from excited to see her. He was absolutely terrified as a matter of fact and couldn't even scream as the otherwise angelic creature had some menacing features that made her a terribly scary sight. Not only her alabaster skin had intrigued tattoos around her, but, one of her wings as well as half her hair were dark while the rest was white and the same could be said about her eyes, once she turned to look at him. A blue and a red orb stared deep into the mortal's sour as she silently watched his panicked form.

Backing away from the mysterious entity, Keiichi struggled to make sense of what was going on here and no matter how much he tried, waking up was nearly impossible. This wasn't a dream by the looks of it, but, reality; no matter how bizarre it appeared to be. Pressed hard against the wall, Keiichi tried to take a look at Urd who was blissfully unaware of the floating apparition above her that continued to stare at him without making any sound or noise at all.

Apparently the bronze skinned woman was a heavy sleeper and didn't notice anything at all, although the lack of any sound could've also attributed to that. However, as he glimpsed at her, the angel floating above the platinum haired woman, grinned and started to move towards him in an eerily silent way, that almost made her appear as if she was merely part of his imagination.

Still, the tiny shadows she cast as her glowing form moved were more than enough proof that there was more to this than that and the angelic woman wasn't just a hallucination. Part of him wanted to wake Urd up and see if she could also see her, but, he was far too scared at the moment to manage anything other than a simple gasp, as he felt a pair of hands lift his chin up in order for the angel to look straight at his face.

To say that he wasn't scared witless would've been a lie, yet, he couldn't help but admit that there was something soothing in the angel's unnerving gaze as her heterochromatic eyes stared deep into his soul. More interesting though was the warm sensation of her touch, which eliminated the possibility that she was a mere illusion or a hallucination. She was definitely real and that by itself posed all kinds of questions, but before Keiichi had the chance to break his silence and try to talk to this angelic being, his eyelids felt so heavy that is all but impossible to keep them open. Almost as if hypnotized the dark haired mortal found it almost impossible to resist falling asleep, no matter how much he wanted to learn more about their nightly visitor.

Setting his head carefully down on his pillow, the angel smiled and turned around to her mistress, content that the man who shared the same room with her, met her standards as she quickly checked him. Without wanting to disturb Urd, World of Elegance retreated back into her host's body, feeling content that her mistress was in good hands.

'Hm… I really hope we'll meet again one day, Morisato Keiichi. In the meantime, I'll entrust you this troublesome girl. Not that… I'm one to speak, though…'

XXX

Suppressing a yawn, Keiichi took another sip from the canned coffee he bought from a vending machine. He was way too sleepy and had the gnawing feeling that he had the weirdest dream of his life, even if he couldn't recall anything about it. After several failed attempts he eventually gave up and decided to focus on his current task; helping Urd find an apartment.

In a rare act of generosity Chihiro had allowed them to work three hours less a day in order to allow Urd to deal with the near impossible task of finding a place she could afford. And given that she had no bike or car of her own, Keiichi was also allowed to accompany her in an effort to move around the city much faster than having to rely on public transport.

Waiting in a nearby park for her to return from the real estate agency, he really hoped that this time she was going to have some better luck. So far their search has proved almost hopeless and after a few agents thought they were a couple and deliberately tried to show them some more expensive houses, they decided to avoid having to provide the same explanation every time and Urd went on this agency alone.

On the up side, this also allowed Keiichi to spend some time thinking about the whole situation and he had to admit that sharing an apartment was actually a much easier solution. By pooling resources and splitting the rent and all the rest of the bills, it was possible to find a new place for both of them; one with two bedrooms of course. And even if such an apartment would cost more than what they were looking for, it was entirely possible for them to end up paying less, since they'd pay half of their current living expenses.

The biggest downside of such an approach was the whole social situation with a man and a woman sharing a common roof. It wasn't unheard of, but, in most cases roommates tended to be of the same gender and living together with Urd would've given everyone the idea that they were having an affair. Actually, even suggesting it to her was a bit too embarrassing for the young mechanic who worried that she could take as a proposition of sorts.

Far worse, it could also be taken as a form of _payment_ for being such a nice guy. There were those kind of people who often tried to seem helpful, but their motivations were far from selfless, trying to earn something for their trouble and Keiichi had no wish to be mistaken as one of them. Exploiting someone in need to get lucky was downright wrong in his eyes and those who attempted to hide that by using all sorts of excuses on top of it were hypocrites and liars as well.

And no matter how frustrating, it was that kind of guys who got a chance to score with the ladies, instead of those who had good intentions and actually tried to be honest. As a student he had seen that happen all around him way too many times and in some cases, it wasn't even a case of genuine deception. Some girls actually fell for it on purpose, especially when it came to money, allowing some of the worst scumbags to have a whole harem for themselves as long as they fanned them with money bills.

One particularly notorious example was Toshiyuki Aoshima, a rich wannabe playboy with a long record of sleeping with girls who were under the impression that they'd get some of his money if they managed to make him marry them. Not that it worked, and yet, they kept trying as if something would change.

'Life is so unfair… I was never given a real chance no matter how hard I tried. Hell… if I did half of what guy did… they'd be after me with pitchforks and torches…Oh well, I can't change the past. Hm… Urd's kind of late…'

Meanwhile, as the dark haired mechanic checked his watch, a tiny figure was carefully observing him from his hiding position, sitting on a tree branch. Having reduced himself in a pocket size version of his actual body, the blue haired god continued to stare at the mortal who was apparently living with Urd. As boring as that task was, it was really important to get an idea of what he was dealing with and the best way to do that was by keeping an eye on him.

'Well… he doesn't seem like an opportunist, that's a bonus point for sure. At least, he's not an unpredictable one, given that he's not deviating too much from his profile. Good, that's one less thing to worry abo-...'

Feeling a soft pat on his head, the tiny god turned around to find a tabby cat trying to figure out what he was. Like every other member of his feline family, curiosity was a true motivational force for this intrepid explorer of the world and failing to realize that he was dealing with powers beyond its furry brain, the kitten kept pressing on. "Meow?"

"Hey! Cut it out, you silly thing! I'm on a mission given from Daitenkaicho himself and… Stop poking me I said!"

"Purr?"

"Want a piece of me?" shot the god at the defiant feline, narrowing his eyes dangerously. Much to his surprise though, the cat not just stared him back with no intent of backing off and more strangely, there was a sudden change in the animal's attitude, as its gaze became far more focused.

"No, I want a status report."

Falling back on the branch as the god blinked at the response he wasn't really expecting, it quickly became apparent that some higher entity had temporarily overridden the creature's will; essentially possessing it. And judging by the sound of that voice, there was only one potential candidate who was responsible for it. "T-Tyr-sama! My sincere apologies! I haven't realized it was you!"

"Actually, I've just took over this cat, so, it's not your fault for failing to recognize me. Now, what's the situation with my daughter?" asked the Daitenkaicho as he gazed towards Keiichi. "I guess that's the mortal who's providing her some assistance? So, what's your evaluation, Vali?"

"Affirmative, my lord. I've read his profile and based on my observations, I cannot say that there's any disparity between the file and his actual behavior. So far I must admit that he seems to display a genuine concern over Urd's well being without expecting anything in return," answered the blue haired god, following his leader's gaze.

"That's some good news for a change. With the whole mess concerning her lost memories, the last thing I wanted was to have Urd fall victim of every opportunist who would try to gain something from her. If that happens, you're authorized to use any means necessary to neutralize them," said Tyr in a grave tone. "Am I understood?"

"Yes, Tyr-sama." Pausing for a few moments, Vali was uncertain if it was a wise decision to bring that incident up, but eventually thought it was better to ask, just in case it repeated itself. "My lord… Yesterday we had a… near disaster when Urd's angel manifested herself and made contact with the mortal. While she suppressed his memories of the event, what should I do if he becomes aware of her nature as a goddess?"

"Hm… Actually that's a tough question," admitted Tyr as he stroked his whiskers. "Humans are often unprepared to accept our existence, or rather, realize that their expectations and reality are two entirely separate things. Predicting his reaction if he became aware of her true nature is very hard, but, should that came to occur, then we can make a decision depending on the said reaction. If it's a positive one, I cannot see any problem with letting him know that she's a goddess; otherwise, delete his memories."

"Understood!" Offering his ruler a bow, the god tried to avoid any reaction at the otherwise hilarious sight of watching his superior groom himself or rather, act like a cat. Whether he was doing it on purpose or simply too lost in thought to notice that he was stroking his whiskers, Vali decided that bringing this up was not just unnecessary, but downright stupid. "Uh… on the other hand, should we provide them some assistance? They're seem to have some serious trouble finding a place for Urd to live."

"Normally I'd leave them on their own, but… given how rough life was for my daughter lately, I guess it's fair for me to provide some divine intervention," said Tyr with the smile that was far too hilarious due to his current body. "Stay here, I'll handle this."

Watching his boss leap to the ground and silently approach the mortal, Vali was happy that he wasn't going to be the one who had to deal with that. 'At least, whatever happens, it's not my fault…'

XXX

"Hey, Keiichi."

Turning to see Urd heading towards him, the dark haired mechanic could already figure out that this agency was no good either. "No luck, huh…"

"Nope! Big surprise, right?" said the bronze skinned goddess as she plopped on the bench next to him, a beer can in one hand. "I did manage to find one, but, the rent was nearly my entire salary. There's no way I could afford it, so… we need to look elsewhere. Actually, you don't have to come along, you know… I'm a big girl, I can deal with this on my own."

"It's not a problem, really. I want to help, although I'm not being that useful right now," said Keiichi with a sigh. "I wish there something more I could do instead of sitting here, drinking coffee."

"Don't worry too much about it. Just having someone to talk to is more that enough to calm my nerves. I mean… isn't there any place here that's not costing an arm and a leg?" Letting a frustrated huff, Urd suddenly noticed a tabby cat sitting next to her on the bench. "Oh! Where did you come from, kitty?"

"Meow!" Rubbing his head against her, the possessed cat purred happily as she reached down and stroked his back.

"Aw!... How adorable! Can we keep him, Keiichi?" asked Urd with a very uncharacteristically cute if not childish expression on her face. It rather amusing how she would go from acting like a sexy woman into cheerful little girl in a moment's notice, holding the cat in front of her for Keiichi to see.

"No way, Urd. Look, it's not allowed to keep pets in my apartment and it's going far more difficult if you want to find a place that allows them as well," said the dark haired mechanic with an apologetic look. As a matter of fact, he was so focused on how to appease the goddess that he missed the positively dirty look he was receiving from the possessed feline.

"Oh… what a pity, you poor kitty…" said Urd as she held the cat closer to her. "I really feel sorry for him not having a place to stay. Well, I guess there's no choice… Bye bye kitty…"

"So, where are we going next?" Letting the cat on the ground in front of her, Urd gave the little mammal a waive and turned to Keiichi who was somewhat troubled. "Huh? What's wrong, Keiichi?"

"Well… it's not allowed, but, we could try to sneak him in our apartment if you really like this fuzzball…" said Keiichi, scratching his head nervously.

"But… won't that cause all sorts of problems? I know that you're trying to be nice, and I really appreciate it, yet… I don't want to make a huge mess because someone will overreact for such a reason and possibly kick you out of your apartment…" Letting a sigh, the bronze skinned goddess was pleased that he was doing his best to make her happy, even to the point of risking to get into some serious trouble. In many ways this was far better than receiving an impersonal little piece of shiny metal, especially from those who could easily afford such gifts and attempted to bribe her in order to date them. "I'm already staying in your place, so, I don't want to push it too far with the favors…"

"No, it's fine! I'm the one who suggested it as a matter of fact, so, it's not something I'd personally call a favor!" said Keiichi as he eyed the cat who returned his gaze. "Actually there are a lot of people who secretly sneak pets into their apartments to avoid those ridiculous restrictions they have to deal with in the first place. I'm pretty sure that we won't have any issues."

"But…"

"It's fine, Urd! Let's go and buy a nice litter box and we can keep him around!" said Keiichi with a much more enthusiastic tone, to make her feel more confident about this; despite the cat's own disgusted expression about the whole box thing.

"Alright… I'm kind of sceptical, but, I suppose we could try this." Picking up the cat, Urd smiled a bit at Keiichi who couldn't help but grin like an idiot. It was rare to see her genuinely happy without trying to tease him in any way, and for a moment, even that cat was sharing his sentiments; although, not for long. "You heard him kitty! Now we're going to the vet and make sure that you're healthy and have all the required shots!"

" _Mreowr?!_ "

"No!... Don't try to run away now, kitty! This is for your own good!" Struggling with the protesting feline who was desperately attempting to escape from her grasp. "Hey! Bad kitty!"

Watching the surreal scene unfold before his eyes, Vali couldn't help but shake his head. It was indeed a good thing that it wasn't him the one who had to deal with the amnesiac Urd; especially after she suddenly decided that she wanted a pet cat.

'This is rather strange… According to her profile I'd say this this is an atypical kind of behavior by her standards. Hm.. perhaps her personality is affected to certain degree, too? Or maybe the lack of her memories allows other kind of reactions? At any rate, I'm happy that I'm not in Tyr-sama's position right now. There's an evil gleam in her eyes despite her cheerful expression…'

XXX

"There you go kitty! It wasn't that bad now, was it?"

It took Tyr all his willpower to restrain himself from saying something back to his eldest daughter, who was _so_ happy with herself. Of course, it wasn't her who had to prodded, poked and even suffer the experience of getting two shots in the past half hour. Whatever made her wish for a pet, it probably had to do with her demonic side, as her amusement was far too great for someone who witnessed the suffering of a poor soul. 'Seriously, there's something wrong with those mortals. They call this… this tortuous procedure as an attempt to care for someone?'

Petting the feline, Urd attached a nice purple collar around his neck and placed him on a lovely basket she bought earlier. And despite his annoyance, the possessed cat had to admit that he wasn't certain what to make of his daughter's behavior. 'Hm… that's pretty strange, I never thought she had it in her. This would've made perfect sense for Belldandy, or even Skuld to a certain point; but… Urd? Actually, I never saw her being interesting in this kind of stuff, even while she was a child. At least… as far as I can remember. Perhaps her lost memories are starting to cause her attitude to change over time? As a matter of fact, she might be turning more like her other sisters, instead of resembling her mother so much.'

In a way that could've been a good thing, as her mischievous side would eventually subside, meaning that she'd stop from getting into trouble all the time. On the other hand, Tyr had to admit that while beneficial he wasn't actually looking forward for such a change, as his daughter's distinctive personality would've been lost; especially her connection to _her_ , leaving only a superficial physical resemblance behind.

Following her around the apartment as she went along with her daily routine, Tyr was interested to see how different she was from normal, only to realize that wasn't exactly certain what counted as normal for her. Being the Daitenkaicho was a full time job and unfortunately one that consumed way too much of what should've been his personal time as well. The result was he never really got to watch them grow up as young goddesses, being constantly busy with only short breaks between paperwork.

It was a horrid realization, but, not an unexpected one; Tyr knew very little about his daughters. In all irony, his wife was more familiar with Urd, even though she wasn't related to her. While he always considered it as a necessary evil, given all the responsibilities he had to shoulder as the ruler of Asgard, it was still sad that he couldn't raise his own kids the way he actually wanted.

"Hey Keiichi! What do you want for dinner?"

The simple, yet shocking question was enough to make the possessed cat's fur stand up from the sheer horror of it all. Anyone willing or… stupid enough to try Urd's cooking was going to become a test subject for her latest potion. Of course without her memories or access to her powers, that was an unlikely possibility right now, although, for anyone familiar with the Norn of the past the mere idea of her, offering to cook was as alien as having Belldandy walk around in her underwear.

"Oh, I'd like the pork flavored one, tonight!" came the reply from his bedroom as the man was preparing for his shower, after Urd had already finished with the bath.

"Okay! I'll get it ready for you!" Filling the electric kettle with water, Urd got two cups of instant noodles, humming a tone while she waited; until she remembered something important. "Oh, no! What about, kitty? We forgot to get some food for him!"

In a way, Tyr felt a wave of relief as he realized that his daughter was talking about instant food. That was something one could prepare without any skills or even effort, especially in the case of instant noodles. On the other hand, having them rely on such a cheap kind of food didn't sit well with him, but, at the moment he was just a cat. 'And speaking of that, I might get some of those noodles before she tries to feed me cat food!'

Rushing to grab a cup of noodles for himself, he proudly presented them for Urd to see, before she got any funny ideas. "Meow!"

"Huh? You want... this?" Scratching her head in confusion, the goddess could've sworn that the little feline actually understood her; something that she found less impossible than she initially thought of, but decided to ignore it. "Very well, then! It's noodles for you too, kitty. Heh… You know, given your color and the fact that this is pasta… I might call you Garfield! Although, you're still not fat enough for that. Hm… now that I think of it, you actually need a name."

'Why do I have a feeling this is going to be something like, _Penicillin?_ '

"I know! I'll call you Whiskers!" said Urd with a big grin on her face.

'For real? Even Skuld wouldn't have gone for that… Give me a break!'

"Hey, Keiichi! I came up with a name for kitty!" said Urd as soon as the dark haired man stepped into the kitchen. "Say hello to Mr. Whiskers!"

"Oh, that's a very nice name!" said Keiichi, returning the goddess' smile. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Whiskers!"

'Morisato Keiichi… you're the biggest, cheesiest… sucker I've ever had the opportunity to meet. She's not even your girlfriend yet and she's already got you agree to everything she says...' Shaking his head, Tyr had to admit that perhaps the boy was wiser and simply avoided an argument he'd never win anyway. 'I really hope I didn't look like that while I was with Hild. If I did, then I'm certainly glad I can't recall it…'

XXX

The rest of the evening had been rather smooth, with only a minimal chat while they enjoyed their dinner. Despite that, Tyr had to admit that it felt very natural for two individuals who only spent a few few days together. Normally it would take a lot more time for a couple to bond, although, they weren't at that stage yet.

Right now, it felt more like they were good friends, despite Urd's occasional teasing. All in all, it was nice that the boy seemed to enjoy the goddess' company, instead of her body. Sure, there were moments that he caught Keiichi staring at her bust, but then again, his daughter was far from innocent as she practically put it on display. Comfortable or not, her sleeveless t-shirt was far too big for her, and had the tendency to stoop too low whenever she bent over; reducing the mortal's mind into mush as he got more than a glimpse of pure perfection.

Which was the primary reason why Keiichi has remained rather quiet during dinner, while the possessed cat kept repeating his own mantra. 'I didn't look like that, back then… I didn't look like that, back then… I didn't…'

As a matter of fact, Tyr often toyed with the idea of giving him a nice scratch, but, acting like the stereotypical father-in-law was unfair, since his systems were responsible for his daughter's amnesia to begin with. Showing up all of sudden and trying to push her around even further wasn't just cruel, but, totally uncalled for. Especially after she did show some restrain, given how easily she could get him into her bed if she desired to do so.

'Hold on a second… She may not have her memories, but, her body is still that of a goddess not a human. Can a mortal even _survive_ mating with her?' Normally she would've to restrain herself from letting either her strength or her magic from going out of control, but, as she didn't even remember who or _what_ she was, such a thing was simply impossible. 'Uh oh…'

His thoughts were interrupted as the doorbell rang and for a moment both Urd and Keiichi seemed equally confused as to who wanted to visit them at such a late hour. 'Now what?'

Decided to go and see what this was all about, Keiichi was mildly surprised to see his landlady, and judging by the look on her face, he wasn't going to like it. "Good evening, Mrs. Amagasaki."

"I wish it was a good one, Mr Morisato," started the elderly woman, with disdain evident on her sour expression. "I happened to notice that you've taken quite some liberties lately, not only bringing another tenant into this apartment, but… you even got a pet as well."

"Please, let me explain! My friend had no place to stay and I've offered her a room to stay for the time being," said Keiichi with an apologetic tone of his voice. "And the cat is hers… Please, this is only for a few days and…"

"I think I've heard enough excuses already, young man. This is a direct violation of the agreement we made when you first came here. I did gave you a rather generous discount for staying here, because you had financial issues, and I've also made it clear that under no circumstances you were allowed to keep pets." Pausing for a moment, the elderly woman readjusted her glasses as she gave a sideways glance to Urd and with a disapproving look she turned back to Keiichi. "I'm fairly certain that your… friend could've afforded to pay something extra to cover your expenses, and yet you said nothing at all, enjoying your discount. And who the cat belongs to is absolutely irrelevant, either. Now, I wish to save both our time and to avoid any more arguments, I'd like to inform you that need to vacate this apartment by the end of this week."

"Wait!... _What?_ " He could hardly believe his ears, as he never expected for things to get this bad. Sure, he knew that bringing the cat in was risky, but, to get kicked out because of it was a bit too much for him. "Surely…"

"I think I was clear enough, Mr. Morisato. There's nothing else to discuss here. The only reason I agreed for you to stay was that I got tired of all those college kids who kept breaking my rules and did whatever they wanted. For once, I was under the impression that I was dealing with a person who knew how to follow some simple instructions," said the irate woman as she was about to turn around and leave. "Apparently, I was mistaken, but, that's about to be rectified. Good night Mr. Morisato."

Closing the door, Keiichi turned around with a troubled expression evident on his face; only to found both Urd and even her cat looking rather annoyed. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean, _what's wrong?_ " said Urd with a frown. "How can someone treat another person like that?"

"Heh… I'm just a source of income for her, you know. If people actually cared, this world would've been a better place, Urd. But, it's not and everything we might say is pretty pointless right now," said Keiichi with a shrug. "The bottom line is that I need a house, too. Funny isn't it?"

"Not really. Look… I'm sorry that I caused this whole mess, but…" started Urd, only to be interrupted by the young mechanic.

"Forget it, Urd. It was my suggestion in the first place, and besides, I don't like being treated like that. Sure, I may have to find a new place to stay, but, I'd rather do that instead of begging for forgiveness," said Keiichi as he crossed his arms. "If that old hag thinks she's some royalty who make laws that cannot be broken, then I'm not going to stroke her overinflated ego any more. There's got to be a place here on this freaking city that we can afford!"

"Actually… How about that _we_ part?"

"Huh? I'm not following you…"

"It's simple, really. We both know that finding a place for each of us can be hard, so, why not search for a single apartment and share the expenses?" offered Urd with a raised eyebrow, making Keiichi blink.

It was actually something he had also considered not too long ago, even though he was far too embarrassed to suggest it.. "I don't know… it's just…"

"Just what? We're practically living together already, Keiichi. We might actually find a place that's better suited for two people; and a cat," said Urd with a shrug. "If you're worried so much about it, we can even find a place with two bedrooms."

"Of course it's going to have two bedrooms!" said Keiichi, his eyes widening considerably.

"Oh? I thought you'd be sad if we were on two different rooms," offered the grinning Urd, failing to notice the cat who was palming himself; or trying to at least. "After all, you can't check whether I'm wearing panties under my nightie, right?"

"No! I wasn't trying to do that!" protested Keiichi, shaking his hands in front of him.

"Don't be so shy… I can let you get a glimpse, you know…"

As the exchange between them went on and on until they finally settled down and decided to watch a show on the TV, Tyr couldn't help but feel a deja vu while he witnessed the whole scene. Despite that the situation was vastly different, there was a familiar sensation as he watched his daughter's antics and the way she teased her friend.

'I didn't look like that, back then… I didn't look like that, back then… I didn't… Dammit, Hild! She's as bad as you were! And she doesn't even have her memories! Oh, well… that can wait. I saw more than I need, now I must help them find a place to live…'

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

I would also like to thank for ObeliskX for the initial suggestion for a reverse harem setting that led to this story.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

This story is clearly taking place after the manga's timeline (without anything supernatural happening of course; since this is an AU of the story), and as a result, Megumi is still a student. Considering that, though, she never got to live in that apartment she got in the actual series (the one with the Earth Spirit) and instead she had to settle down with living in a dorm instead.

The introduction of World of Elegance may seemed a bit odd, as she was prohibited from showing up, but, currently Urd has no memories and by an extension, it invalidated her mistress' orders. Of course, she won't show up too much, while Urd is uncertain as to who and what she is, but, this will be far from the last time she appears in this story.

Speaking of appearances, Vali is the same god who was following Urd around from the previous chapter and his job is to make sure she's doing okay in her current amnesiac state. In Norse legends, there were two different gods by that name, one being Loki's son and the other being Odin's. Technically, this is a different one who only bears that name but no connection to any of them.

Tyr's appearance here isn't something that will last forever throughout the entire story. While he will pop up from time to time, he won't be one of the main characters. Still, I wanted him to show up and check how Urd was coping with her situation, instead of leaving that to some other member of his family. As a result, Mr. Whiskers won't possessed throughout the whole story, and will have his position as an honorary member of the cast.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

* * *

Letting a yawn as he stretched his back, the possessed cat was the first tenant of this cramped apartment to greet the morning sun, as soon as it appeared over the horizon. He was still here, as it would've been bad to leave his daughter and her friend alone; especially after they were facing such a crisis. In less than a week, they needed to find a place for themselves, and a pretty affordable one. Although far from impossible, Tyr knew that it was a bit too much for them, going from one emergency to the next and he wished to give them a hand.

'Hm...we need something cheap, spacious enough and without any bans against pets. The worst part is how to tell them, though. It's not like I can just say it out loud, given that I'm supposedly a cat and all that.'

Wandering towards their room, Tyr was happy that everything was fine, until he got a nice glimpse of his daughter's sleeping form. Apparently at some point during the night, Urd must've pulled her covers a bit too much, leaving her entire back exposed and given that, Keiichi was facing in her direction, it was only a matter of time before the mortal boy got a perfect view of her.

Of course, there was no issue with the upper half of her body; it was the lower bit that could incite some really improper thoughts to the young man. Urd's panties left absolutely nothing to the imagination, especially back there, as they were just three flimsy strings in a Y-shaped arrangement.

'Is she doing this on purpose? Hild sure did, but… Urd? Maybe it's all a coincidence and…'

Before he could even finish that thought, the sound of Keiichi's alarm clock meant that the boy was seconds away from waking up and trying to avoid wasting any more time, the possessed cat sprinted across the room and gave a mighty leap, claws extended to grab his daughter's covers. Pulling them back down in the nick of time, the feline smacked on the floor with a thud as he wasn't particularly concerned about his landing.

"Oh, good morning, Whiskers! I guess you're already up, huh?" said Keiichi, completely unaware of the cat's actions or the missed opportunity to see one of Urd's impressive features.

"Meow…" Trying to avoid letting out a pained groan instead, Tyr decided to sit there and pretend that he was lying like any other kitty would, enjoying the warmth of Urd's body next to him.

"Um… Urd? Should you take a bath first?" asked Keiichi, turning around to give the goddess some privacy as she got out of the bed. "I'll make some breakfast in the meantime."

"Thanks, I won't keep you waiting for too long." Grabbing a change of clothes and a towel, Urd headed towards the cramped bath, making a mental note to try and get an apartment with a much bigger one as a priority. She could live with a tiny bedroom, but, without a proper tub where she could soak, it almost felt that something was missing from her life. "Of course, you can always join me… We could save time by scrubbing each other's back, you know…"

"Only if we could both fit in there at the same time…I'm a grease monkey, not a sardine, Urd." Chuckling at his own joke, the dark haired mortal wanted to be the one who would tease her for once, instead of the other way; which was the norm by now.

However, as much as she wanted to giggle at his attempt of doing something other than blushing and stammering, Urd couldn't help but wish to outsmart him, being the last one to laugh here. It was a subconscious urge, almost as if she enjoyed teasing and getting teased by others. Although, she couldn't remember getting in a situation that wasn't a one sided deal for anyone involved, except from herself of course. "I wouldn't be so sure, Keiichi… With some creative positioning I think we could both fit in there and feel _really_ good too."

Not waiting to see the reaction, as she was fairly certain that the boy was more or less looking like a ripe tomato, Urd headed towards the bath, leaving her embarrassed roommate and the possessed cat behind.

Patting the poor boy with one of his front paws, Tyr couldn't help but feel some sympathy for the mortal who became his daughter's favorite target for all kinds of jokes.

'There, there… I know the feeling. Been there, done that… got a kid to prove it… Although, in a way she's even worse that her own mother. At least Hild didn't tease me so much without offering some… release I guess. Urd on the other hand?... I can't say I feel envious for him; nobody would.'

XXX

" _She kicked you out because of a poor kitty? Ugh!... unbelievable!"_

There were three things that put a smile on Chihiro's face: cute bikes, cats, and children. A rather strange combination of things, although, her employees were happy that money wasn't amongst them. While Chihiro wanted to gain as much of it possible, it wasn't her primary motivational force, rather the means to achieve her dream; to create her very own successful and recognizable bike shop.

Whirlwind was just the beginning and over time she hoped that it would grow into a bigger, more prestigious business and for that to happen, she needed the funds. Which sometimes made her look like she was stingy or even greedy, although, whoever spent enough time around her could tell that this wasn't the case. Chihiro truly cared for her employees who she valued as friends, instead of money making drones and obsess about things like productivity and efficiency. Sure, she loved to be competitive, but, she'd also stop and hear how the others were dealing with their lives, instead of droning about work, schedules and sales.

'Heh… she's quite the opposite of that old manager of mine. It feels more like talking with a friend than my boss.'

"Well, it's not something we can change now," said Keiichi after a while, getting up from floor as he placed the container and allowed the bike's oil to drain, before he removed the old filter. "We both need to find a place to stay and we decided to find a single one instead of two."

" _Oh my!..._ You should've told me that there good news too!" said Chihiro with a grin as she took one of the tea cups, Urd offered for her while they had a short break.

As a matter of fact, it took Keiichi several seconds to process what the brunette was implying and while Urd was grinning as well, the young mechanic simply appeared to be lost. "Huh? What good news? You mean about the cat? Sure that's nice and… Uh… wait a second…"

The goddess could hardly contain her mirth as her friend turned completely red, struggling to keep a straight face after their boss got the wrong idea. "Oh, don't be so shy Keiichi… You're _so_ much bolder when we're alone… I could feel you touch me a bit while I was still asleep, earlier in the morning…"

" _That was Whiskers! I didn't touch anything!_ "

Giggling, both Urd and Chihiro enjoyed the panicked look on his face, as he waived his arms in front of him. It was fairly obvious based on the goddess' tone that she was just joking, yet Keiichi tended to overreact whenever she implied anything too naughty. "Is that so? What a bad kitty…"

"Speaking of that, if it really becomes a problem, I can take care of the poor cat," offered the brunette businesswoman. "My apartment has no ban for pets and I do actually have a cat of my own!"

"Thanks, Chihiro! I'll have to use that as a last resort, though. It somehow sounds irresponsible for me if I immediately got rid of him without even trying," said Urd, finding it strange that she actually used the word _irresponsible_ like that for a reason; even if she couldn't understand why.

Smiling at her, Chihiro checked the shop's clock and decided to give them a bit of a head start for today's hunt for their apartment. "How about we wrap things up here, so that you can leave earlier? We're mostly done anyway, and I can finish the rest on my own."

"Are you sure? It's a bit too early actually…" said Keiichi as he stared at the clock as well.

"Morisato-kun… Try to spend more time with your girlfriend than acting like a workaholic," said Chihiro with a playful wink, making Urd giggle and the dark haired mechanic blush, but remain silent as he got the feeling that any reply would've ended up with more teasing.

'And we're not even a couple… I don't even want to imagine how it's going to get if that actually happens. Yeah… keep dreaming Morisato…'

XXX

"That was a pity… We could totally afford it, but, no pets were allowed."

Letting a sigh, Keiichi tried to see the positive side of the situation; they _were_ actually finding apartments, unlike before. It was only a matter of time to get the one that was ideal for them and then all their problems could've been sorted out.

"It's much better now, though. At least, we're getting _some_ results," said Urd, almost mirroring his thoughts while the two of them walked along a sidewalk in downtown Nekomi.

"Excuse me, but you seem troubled…"

Blinking, Keiichi and Urd turned to the unexpected source of the interruption, finding a cloaked woman sitting behind a fortune teller's stall. Despite all the oddities one could encounter in Nekomi, a person behind a crystal ball was a bit too much for them and neither seemed to be particularly interested to approach her. It was more than an obvious scam to make money out of tourists and the local students by telling them their fortune, which was most likely some obscure and cryptic answer that could be interpreted in too many ways.

"Yes, I'm talking to you and your lovely roommate. You've got troubles clouding your future… Please… come closer."

The duo gave each other a curious look, wondering just how this fortune teller assumed that they were living together. Of course, there was always the possibility that out of sheer luck she made a successful guess and got it with the first try.

"What do you think?" whispered Keiichi to Urd.

"If she doesn't charge us too much?... Why not?" was the goddess' reply with a casual shrug.

Approaching the stall, they could only get a glimpse of the numerous bracelets decorating her wrists, as well as the rather impressive necklace she was wearing. Still, her blue robes cast a shadow which concealed most of her face, leaving nothing more than her mouth to be visible to her two clients.

"You've spent days searching for a safe harbor, a roof above your head."

"I must admit that you're pretty good," said Keiichi with a raised eyebrow. "I don't suppose you know how to solve that problem, do you?"

"Actually… I do. Far along the freedom's path, a place lies hidden behind forgotten walls that weep for one to remember them. Seek that place and your troubles will be over."

Staring the woman in front them with a blank expression, the duo glanced briefly at each other, wondering whether she was serious or just joking.

"Uh… t-thank you for the advice," said Keiichi, leaving several coins on her table, before he and a baffled Urd started to walk away, unsure what to make of this cryptic message.

"Wait, I didn't ask for…" started the hooded woman, but it was too late for them to stop and turn to listen to her. Instead they kept walking and talked to each other, probably about what she told them earlier and for a moment, the fortune teller let out a sigh before her lips curled up in a smile.

'Take care Urd. May fortune smile on you.'

Gathering her things as she closed the stall, she briefly remembered the coins and feeling that taking them back with her would've been a waste, a much better option was to donate them. Unfortunately with nobody around her who was in need of them, she turned to another possibility; an automated vending machine not too far from where her stall was.

Walking towards it, she briefly checked what kind drinks she could buy with them and which one of them was better. Some sounded really familiar and she had to admit that the canned tea seemed like an appealing choice, although, a lot of the pedestrians who walked by her previously were drinking something she was unfamiliar with and for a moment, trying it sounded like a good idea to her.

Seconds after the coins were inserted in the machine, the mysterious figure retrieved her can of Cola.

XXX

"You don't seriously believed that, do you?"

"Hm…" Scratching her chin, Urd had an instinctive impulse to disagree with Keiichi, although common logic couldn't explain any of the fortune teller's words. While she did find what their problem was, the solution was far too cryptic for her to decipher. "I don't know, Keiichi… She didn't sound like she was messing around with us, but… I've got no idea what she meant, either."

"Well, I must admit that she did got a few things right. However, I'm equally lost about her answer. It sounds like one of those treasure hunt games where you're given some riddles that act like clues." Failing to come up with anything that could've given them some further insight as to what all that meant, he tried to focus on their task at hand. "Besides, shouldn't we visit the next agency?"

"One moment…" Refusing to give up, Urd tried to break that answer into parts and wondered if there was anything which made any sense. "Is there by any chance anything called _freedom's path_ around here? You know, a street… a road… maybe a shop even."

"Uh… none I'm aware of. At least as far as streets are concerned, I've never heard of anything by that name or description before. Now, shops are another matter altogether, but, there are too many of them to start looking for something like that," said Keiichi as he shook his head. "It could take far too much time and… I mean, we can't afford to go on a wild goose chase right now."

"No argument there, Keiichi," said Urd with a sigh. "Still, if you were to describe a path like that, what would you pick?"

"Now, that's a strange question…" Pausing for a moment as he racked his brains to come up with an answer to that bizarre request. He was unsure why his roommate insisted to pay attention to that silly advice, but in the end he decided to humor her. "Well, for me that's the mountain path, also known as the Nekomi circuit amongst the local bikers. It's a place I used to go on a ride whenever I wanted to feel free and forget about my homework and the deadlines. That was quite some time ago, though."

"Huh? Why?"

"The usual problem actually," said Keiichi with a sad sigh. "Too much work, too little time for anything else. I may have no longer to deal with homework, but, as soon as I started working for Chihiro, all my free time was more or less gone. I do hope I could get back there one of these days and ride along the mountain path like I used to."

"How about now?" suggested the goddess with a smile.

"What? B-But... Urd, we have to…"

"Oh, _come on!_ We can find a bloody house later. It's not like we're going to depart on a journey across the ocean," said the Norn of the past with a wink. "Actually, it could help us both clear our minds and forget about our problems, right?"

"You mean, it's not because of that fortune teller?"

"Don't change the subject!"

"I'm not…"

" _Yes you are and I won't take no for an answer!_ " The change in the goddess' voice was subtle, yet for the young man next to her, it was akin to a ruler announcing a decree to her loyal subjects. Not harsh, although leaving little room for negotiations and even less for anyone to deny her.

"Yes! Let's go!" Turning around, he headed towards his parked bike, trying to avoid shaking his head.

'Oh boy… she's really making me do whatever she wishes already. Sorry, Megumi, your brother is a total sucker…'

XXX

Driving up the mountain path, Keiichi had to admit that the fresh air and the serene environment did actually make him forget about all the stress and frustrations of the last couple of days. It was one of the reasons why he enjoyed driving here in the first place; the other being the road itself, which offered a decent challenge and there was hardly any traffic at all, making it ideal for racing.

More interestingly, though, was the somewhat serene expression on Urd's face as he glanced over at the sidecar. Unlike her typically mischievous look, the bronze skinned goddess was genuinely relaxed and enjoying the ride, occasionally checking at the landscape around them.

"It's nice how peaceful it is here. The city is far too busy to notice the scenery that surrounds it."

"Yeah… That's partially why I came here in the first place," said Keiichi with a warm smile, turning back to the road. "After several hours of hard work with the rest of the Motor Club members, I'd normally come here to relax."

"Actually… is there any place for us to stop for a while and take a look around?" asked Urd as she glanced ahead of them for any signs of a clearing. The narrow road was framed by the steep rock face on one side and a vast chasm on the other, making it extremely unsafe to pull over.

"Hm.. if I remember correctly, the path widens up ahead and there's even an old temple we could visit," said Keiichi, trying to recall more details about this part of Nekomi. "Never really been there, since I rarely stopped while driving here, but… I think that's the best opportunity for us to get a nice view of our surroundings."

Almost as if on cue, the old temple in question appeared on their left and Keiichi eased off the throttle, bringing the bike to a stop in front of the weathered staircase which lead up to the main entrance. As the duo ascended the steps, they couldn't help but notice several cracks in the stonework, exposing some of the concrete underneath it. And the sign above them was barely readable, the characters almost faded as the paint had long started to fade away.

' _Tariki Hongan temple.'_

"Uh… is this an abandoned temple?" asked Urd as she and Keiichi looked at the sad state of the temple grounds. If the exterior was bad, the area inside the perimeter was actually far worse, with wild grass covering every bit of the ground; even growing through the gaps in the stone path that lead to the actual temple, as well as the priest's house adjacent to it.

"That's funny… I didn't think it was," admitted Keiichi who was under the impression that this was still inhabited. "Maybe something happened and the priest left, or something?"

"Don't ask me… This is the first time I'm here and I haven't been in Nekomi for too long either." Looking around her, Urd wondered if they were right, given that despite its poor state the damage was not too severe and could've been fixed with some hard work. "Still, this was either abandoned recently, or it's actually inhabited but not properly maintained."

Walking up the wooden steps of the temple's main building, Urd briefly wondered if there was anything left inside at all, but decided to check nevertheless. After all, they've come all the way here and taking a look wouldn't hurt anyone, although she had no idea how wrong she was. Stopping right in front of the door, the goddess turned around to take a better view of the temple grounds and barely managed to notice the sound of wood giving away under Keiichi's weight, who was mere steps away from her.

While not heavy per se, the young mechanic was the last person that particular board supported and after many long years of serving as part of the temple's stairs it broke, sending the unsuspecting man tumbling forward. Flailing his arms around as there was nothing to stop his fall, he inevitably bumped on the equally surprised Urd who was in front of him, getting them both on the patio's floor in front of the temple.

" _Ow!..._ "

It took them a few moments to realize just what happened, but, after the initial shock had passed, Keiichi found himself literally on the goddess' lap, his face mere inches from her ample chest and in a very compromising position. Despite all the teasing and jokes directed at him, this was the first time he got more than a simple view of the exotic woman and could literally feel her against his body, even if it was due to a mere accident. "I… I…"

Before the goddess could properly respond, the door behind them swung open and a wooden stick landed right on top of the mortal's head, smiting him in the process.

" _Don't desecrate this temple with your impure deeds!_ "

" _Keiichi!_ "

XXX

"I'm terribly sorry about that misunderstanding..."

Looking apologetic, the monk watched his two visitors as they sat across the low table, after he invited them to his house which was located right next to the temple's main building. It was a most embarrassing moment for him to mistake an accident for something impure and ended up hitting a most innocent pilgrim in the process.

"So, you're in charge here?" asked Urd as she held a bag of ice on top of Keiichi's head.

"Actually, I'm the only one living here, at the moment, but… yes. And I must admit that I, Koshian had failed to prove myself worthy of this temple, causing one misunderstanding after the other," admitted the monk with shame evident in his pained expression.

"This happens often?" asked the curious half goddess, making a mental note to avoid this place from now on; for the sake of her friend's well being.

"Not like that, but… Quite a while ago, I had almost reprimanded a visitor who tried to donate money, thinking that he was attempting to steal the offerings. It was that kind of incidents that led me to think that I lack the enlightenment necessary to perform my duties and as a result, I spent more and more time meditating and contemplating about the great mysteries of life," said the monk with a slow nod.

"Is this why the temple is in such a state of disrepair?" Either due to the whack on the head, or him being brutally honest, Keiichi decided to ask the most obvious question anyone else would've hesitated to voice; the temple's current condition.

"Alas, it is. With me spending too many hours a day in meditation and nobody else to assist me, I must admit that I hadn't done a great job at maintaining my poor temple." Letting a sad sigh, the monk knew that excuses wouldn't do him any favors, so, he decided to be really open about this, instead of going around the subject. "I had hoped that soon enough, another monk would join me and ease off this burden, but… that never happened. Hiring others to do this kind of menial work could certainly solve the problem, although, I do not possess the necessary funds for such a thing, either."

"Wait a moment… What if we give you a hand? Would that work?" asked Urd with a small smile, while Keiichi stared at the goddess with a baffled expression, unsure what she was getting at.

"Huh? You would like to do that? But… I cannot pay you," said the monk, looking equally lost as the young mechanic next to the bronze skinned woman.

"Actually, we've got a problem of our own. You see… we have a few days to find a place to live and that's going to be really hard to pull in such a short period of time. If you allow us to stay here for exchange of getting two helpers of sorts, we would be really grateful." Smiling at the monk, Urd tried to buy some more time for her and Keiichi to find a new apartment for themselves.

"Wait a second, Urd! What are you doing?" whispered the concerned man, who feared that he would end up working from sunrise to sunset, to fulfil both his role as a mechanic _and_ a repairman at the same time.

"It's only for a few days, Keiichi. Just enough to search for a house without feeling all that pressure," whispered Urd back, although that didn't seem to make him feel any better.

"Yeah, but… We're going to have to work, search for a house _and_ help with the repairs, Urd!" countered the concerned mechanic. "Just how long do you think we can stand such an exhaustive schedule?"

"Oh, come on… I don't think that the monk's going to work us to death…"

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this…"

After several more seconds of considering the pros and cons of such an unusual offer, Koshian decided that it was too great of an opportunity to let it pass just like that. Even dealing with the wild plants outside could be a great improvement to the temple and besides… the roof was leaking and he desperately needed someone to fix it. "Very well, I'll have to agree with your terms. You can move in as soon as you can and I can allow you to have a room to yourselves."

"It's a deal!" Not bothering to explain that they weren't a couple, Urd accepted right away without worrying about the downsides of such an arrangement. This house wasn't tiny, but then again, it was no mansion and asking for two separate rooms for free could sound a bit much.

Meanwhile, Keiichi was far from enthusiastic, but, had to accept the offer as well. Urd did have a point here and this deal could actually buy them some time to find an apartment without feeling the pressure of an impending deadline. On the other hand, he had no delusions that with him being a man, most the hard tasks would've been assigned to him; and there a lot of work to be done.

'Oh boy… I can feel the pain already…'

XXX

'That seems nice. Apparently they did solve the problem on their own. Well… for the most part.'

Sitting on top of the bell tower, Vali was using his binoculars to spy on the pair who had apparently found themselves in a rather unusual part of Nekomi. Munching on a single rice cracker which seemed gigantic compared to his miniature form that he had to assume in order to minimize chances of others spotting him, the blue haired god was pleased that they had chosen such a remote location. With few humans around to interfere or even cause problems to them, his job as a guardian was now a lot simpler.

Of course, as it was typical in such cases the moment someone thought that everything was going to be fine, life could always decide to prove them wrong and Vali was no exception to that rule; god or not. As his communicator demanded his attention, he had little idea what was wrong, although he suspected that his boss was behind that; a sentiment that was absolutely correct.

"Yes? This is war god candidate Vali of..."

"It is I… and I don't have the time for the full into, Vali!" said Tyr in a somewhat rushed manner. "Look, I have a big problem… My daughter got drunk!"

"Uh… she looks perfectly sober to me, my lord," said the confused god as he stared at Urd through his binoculars.

"Oh right… It's not Urd I'm talking about, but… Belldandy," said Tyr with a groan, clearly not comfortable with the whole situation. "I've asked her to give them a hand, and she ended up getting wasted after consuming some local beverage. Now, she's all over the place granting any kind of random things and this has to stop before any real damage is done."

"Is it really that bad? Surely, random wishes do not have the status of a true contracts and…" started the god, only to stop as a distant, low grumble could be heard from Nekomi's general direction; more specifically towards the city's bay.

"Random or not, she somehow managed to get a few of them through the system and while we'll have to fix this mess over here, I need _you_ to deal with a tiny bit of a problem," said Tyr, both pain and sarcasm evident in the frustrated Daitenkaicho's voice. "Someone wished for Godzilla."

"Oh!…"

"Yes. And try to get my daughter out of there before she brings anything else from popular fiction too!"

" _Yes, sir!_ " Despite the rather ludicrous situation, a task that involved combat brought a smile to the cadet's face. All this surveillance thing while important was not what he had been meticulously training for. "I'll annihilate that overgrown iguana!"

"It's a kaiju; I think… Whatever humans call them. Just deal with it, before it escalates into something far too troublesome."

"No worries, my lord! Cleaning up a mess like this, is something I really enjoy!"

XXX

" _The police are still investigating the mysterious incident that took place in Nekomi's harbor, causing damage on an unprecedented scale. Thankfully no one was injured as a direct result of it, according to the rescue crews that hurried to the afflicted area. Despite that, there are no eyewitness accounts of what took place, making this one of the strangest incidents in the nation's recent history…"_

Shaking his head, as he watched the news on their TV, Keiichi had no idea how to feel. On one hand, he wasn't the only person to have a strange day, but on the other… something like that was really worrisome. Several warehouses were flattened and nobody even had any idea as to how that came to be. "Hey, Urd… come listen to this crazy stuff."

"In a moment! I'm worried that Whiskers may not be feeling very well," said Urd from the other side of the room, as she placed the cup of hot noodles in front of the otherwise catatonic cat.

"What's the problem?" asked Keiichi as he munched his own dinner. It was late evening when both of them returned home and began the preparations to pack their things. Thankfully Urd's clothes were still in their bags, making it a far less painful ordeal, although the rest were still an issue.

"He looks… I don't know… Unhappy?" said the half goddess as she inspected the possessed cat, who immediately went to eat his dinner with a happy purr, worrying that this could end up in a trip to the vet.

"Hm… he's more lively now, though. Perhaps he missed us?" suggested Keiichi as he turned around to take a look at the cat, while the debate on the TV kept on.

" _This is a classic example of a meteorite breaking up in the atmosphere which results in an airburst."_

" _Nonsense! This was an example of UFO activity! The government wants to cover it all up!"_

" _There's no shred of evidence pointing in that direction!"_

" _Nobody remembers anything! It's brainwashing done by the aliens!"_

'Nope, _I_ did that.' Eating his noodles, Tyr eyed over at his daughter who seemed rather happy that he was doing well and he couldn't help but share the sentiment. Urd wasn't a cold and indifferent goddess, but, seeing her show this much concern for a cat was something he'd expect from Belldandy. 'Ugh… I need to keep her away from that fizzy poison. Who would've thought that she was going to get wasted like that after a few sips? Or that she was _more_ dangerous than that overgrown lizard. Hm… maybe I should decorate Vali for exceptional service. That could make the poor boy feel a bit better after getting curb stomped by a drunken goddess.'

" _I still find this to be ridiculous… Why would anyone travel across countless worlds just to level some warehouses here? It makes no sense!"_

'For the giggles; why else? You still haven't met Hild, human. Maybe it's for your own good too…'

" _But, that's what aliens do!"_

'No, that's just the demons trolling you. Staging all those pranks to piss us off. Especially as they try to monetize the whole craze and make a profit out of it!'

"Ugh… enough with this nonsense!" Turning the TV off, Keiichi decided that they had enough of a break and still had work to do. "I think we need to pack the last few boxes and get ready for moving our stuff."

"Yeah… It's kind of funny how we're going to live in a temple for a while," said Urd with a giggle, missing the cat roll his eyes.

'I wouldn't be so sure, Urd. With you being a goddess... it makes sense to me.'

"Just hope that the priest won't go all out on us with those repairs," said Keiichi with a nervous chuckle. "That place looked like a mess and even the most basic of repairs will take _so much_ time…"

"Hey, I can help too," said Urd with a wink. "Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean that I'll excuse myself while you work hard to fulfill our end of the deal."

"Really?" said Keiichi with a tiny smile, while Tyr couldn't help but feel his chest swell with pride as the most troublesome of his daughters decided to display some level of responsibility. Unfortunately for both males the moment was ruined by none other than Urd herself as she went on.

"Of course, Keiichi. Not only I'm stronger than you, but, I can reach higher too," said with a bright smile that only made matters even worse.

While the young mechanic remained silent, after that severe blow to his pride, Tyr couldn't help but palm himself, or at least tried to.

'Why can't you stop before you ruin it, Urd? Way to go… reminding him all those things…'

Completely missing their expressions, the half goddess went on and headed in their room to finish with their preparations.

"Want some help with them, Urd?" offered the mortal as he followed her.

"Sure thing, Keiichi!"

'Well… at least he's not one to hold a grudge for something like that. Hm… now that I think of it, I wonder what's Vali doing with his current nurse?'

XXX

"Are you feeling better, now?"

Looking to his side with some apprehension, the bandaged god offered a nod to the brunette who volunteered to help him get back to his feet; once he could start to feel them again that is. Worse, the seemingly gentle and kind goddess was the very reason in such a rough shape, not the giant lizard he had managed to deal mostly on his own.

During the climax of his duel with the fictional monster, the gargantuan being was about to stomp the still inebriated goddess and to prevent that, Vali decided to get her to safety. Grabbing her as the monster crushed the very spot she was standing, the war god cadet had to carry her away even in a somewhat unrefined manner, hefting her over his shoulder.

However as the creature swung its mighty tail at them, Vali had to move out of the way once again and to avoid dropping her down, he reached with his hand to secure her in position. An absolutely terrible mistake on his part, as the battle was keeping his attention away from his surroundings. By the time he he realized that his hand rested much higher than he was expecting, it was already too late. And judging from the brunette's startled gasp, she most certainly didn't appreciate the gesture at all; accident or not.

From that point on, he had little recollection as to what transpired. Other than soaring through the sky and right into a few warehouses that eventually stopped his supersonic flight, he had no idea how he ended up in his room.

The place was almost bare, save for a few pieces of furniture and a sleeping bag that acted as the god's bed. Just like Urd's initial apartment, it was provided to him by Heavens as a temporary base of operations while he was stationed in Nekomi for the this mission. As soon as they became aware of the half goddess' amnesia, the Fighting Wings received the Daitenkaicho's request for someone to monitor her and that god happened to be him.

However, in reality he was merely a cadet, not a fully fledged war god, since such a simple task didn't require the combat experience of a senior warrior; or at least, that's what he was being told. In reality, things had proven to be a lot more challenging than he was originally anticipating, since the mortal realm was a place far too strange for him to fully understand.

Magic was almost unknown to the locals, aside from simple tricks performed by entertainers here, making it a hassle to move around as he had to walk whenever he was around mortals. Of course, that wasn't a problem as long as he was out of sight, although certain tasks necessitated some interaction with the locals and those were always problematic for the young god. Humans had a lot more limitations than he had originally expected and this being his first time on Earth, it was a true case of trial by fire; learning things while he was doing his job.

And speaking of that, he wasn't even certain why monitoring her was even necessary. Vali had assumed that once the problem was diagnosed, Heavens would immediately recall her suspension and take her back in order to provide Urd with the best treatment for her amnesia. Instead, they left her here, doing almost nothing aside from assigning him with the task to keep an eye on her. The only information he had was that there were others looking into the actual problem, although he wasn't told anything more than that.

Initially he wasn't particularly fond of this job, expecting a task that would've proven his skills as an aspiring warrior like any other cadet would and instead, he was given a mission that required no fighting at all. For any member of the celestial combat division, that could've been taken as an insult, a sign that his superiors found him only worthy for such a simple task. Worse, with his mother having a nice reputation in the Fighting Wings, he was worried that this might've been a mercy assignment, something simple enough that nobody could really mess up, just so that he had a success to ensure his progression in the combat division. For Vali, riding his mother's coattails was out of question, not even as a last resort option. He'd rather work as a debugger or a low level sysop than being treated like a useless warrior.

Normally, only the best had a real chance of joining the ranks of the Fighting Wings, but with the Double System in place, the job wasn't so dangerous as it used to be in the past and as such, the standards had been somewhat relaxed. Furthermore, there was currently a lack of willing cadets, since most of them were considered to be violent deities, a classification that most celestials wished to avoid at all costs. Due to the above, it was now easier to apply to the Fighting Wings that it used to be in the past and Vali worried that he wasn't as much of a great cadet anymore.

As if his assignment was bad enough, the fact that a gentle, kind and renowned _wish granter_ had more or less defeated him in such a spectacular manner was far too embarrassing for the god's wounded pride to take. He could already imagine his peers sniggering behind his back, once he'd be recalled back to Valhalla after this fiasco. In his eyes, he had already failed to carry out the Daitenakaicho's direct orders, and quite miserably too. Not many of them were directly assigned by their supreme ruler to deal with a situation and end up touching his middle daughter's posterior and then lose consciousness after she sent him flying across the sky. Sure, it was an accident and he had been doing a great job up to that point, but, technically speaking… he had failed his leader.

In his mind this was probably a sign of mercy, being allowed to get some rest until he was feeling better and then, Tyr-sama would simply dismiss him and give this assignment to someone who actually knew what they were doing. Even Belldandy's presence here was part of that setting, in order for him to feel better after he'd have to deal with the consequences of his failure and be someone to talk with while he packed the few things he possessed during his short stay in the mortal realm, prior to his departure.

"Are you absolutely certain you're okay? You seem awfully troubled to me."

It wasn't a big surprise for Vali that the brunette goddess had easily noticed his crestfallen expression on his face. Despite his second class license, the blue haired cadet was a rather straightforward individual who preferred to be honest about something, instead of resorting to lying, and mincing his words. "I should be, by all means. The mission I had received from Tyr-sama himself ended up with me in... this kind of state. And I'd rather not wish to mention _why_ that came to be the case either."

"I'm terribly sorry about that," said Belldandy with an apologetic smile. "I was really careless and pushed my luck too far by drinking that beverage without knowing its full effects on my body. I've caused so many problems by getting drunk and granting all those random wishes..."

"It's perfectly fine. After all, it was a genuine and unintentional error on your part, which resulted in that incident," said Vali with a small smile, as a way to reassure the guilt ridden goddess. Naturally, a blunder of that magnitude was something worth of Asgard's attention, although considering her exceptional record and the fact that it was indeed an accident, it was likely that she wasn't going to get reprimanded for that.

"And you touching my behind, wasn't?" said Belldandy, tilting her head in such an innocent manner that made the bandaged cadet worry that he was probably so injured that he was hearing things.

" _W-What?..._ "

"Forgive my crude words, but, I think that you're being too hard on yourself," said Belldandy, despite the small blush on her face, suppressing certain memories to avoid any further embarrassment to both herself and the blue haired god who stared at her in shock.

"I am? How's that even possible?" asked the baffled Vali. Normally, he'd simply dismiss such talk as a way to make him feel better. However, as a first class goddess, Belldandy wasn't supposed to lie and that only left one possibility; that she was absolutely honest with him.

"You did your best and had to deal with a… drunk first class goddess, while you're a second class war god cadet. To make matters even worse, I do happen to have a Valkyrie license despite the fact that I'm not using it at the moment. It's merely unfair to expect that you could carry out such a mission, especially considering how complicated things became due to my… state of mind," explained Belldandy with a sigh.

"B-But I still should've…" started the embarrassed god, before he was interrupted by the only other celestial contact he had while in Nekomi.

"You should've kept quiet, boy. If the nice goddess tells you it's okay, then you got lucky with it," said the possessed cat as he walked towards them. "Do you have any idea how many would've loved to be in your position?"

" _Father! What are you saying to him?!_ "

"The truth. Although, I'm eternally grateful that this didn't end like most other situations that involve a drunk goddess and physical contact," said Tyr, scratching his whiskers. "The infamous and so much dreaded, _daddy I'm pregnant_ line…"

" _I don't do, such things!_ " protested the scandalized brunette.

Chuckling to himself, the cat's smile was even funnier due to his current form, as he teased his daughter. "Thank goodness for that! I've got my hands full with Urd and even Skuld's antics to worry about you too, Belldandy. Still… I must admit that whenever you misbehave, it's something of epic proportions. Although, I never thought it would even include a movie monster…"

"I'm sorry, father. It was extremely unprofessional of me to grant all those wishes," said Belldandy with a frown, feeling rather ashamed for her actions back there.

"Okay, I think that's enough. I've happened to hear you talking to each other a bit earlier and I guess that you're both too hard on yourselves," said Tyr, shaking his head. "Vali, you actually did a great job, all things considered. As such, I'll decorate you for your valiant effort, although that'll have to wait for a bit. With Urd and her friend moving to their new place tomorrow, we need to keep an eye out for them."

"Yes, my lord. I'll follow them and make sure that everything is fine," said Vali, before his superior shook his head.

"Not tomorrow, I'm afraid. I want you to stay in bed and fully recover from this ordeal. In the meanwhile, I want you, Belldandy to keep an eye on the two of them," said the possessed feline, much to the cadet's chagrin.

"But… my lord!... I can still do my job!" insisted the stricken god with a worried expression on his face. "It's not necessary to assign such a task to…"

"Nonsense! Belldandy is just a capable of doing this kind of…" started the possessed cat, only to be interrupted by Vali, who leaned closer to his leader.

"Is it truly a good idea to let her see just how… Urd interacts with her human friend?" asked the blue haired god, keeping his voice down to avoid Belldandy from listening to them.

"Hm… that is a good point indeed," admitted Tyr, checking over to his daughter who was on the other side of the room, preparing some tea for them. "Although, I doubt that Urd's going to be so crude while they'll live in the same house with that monk. So, it's okay to leave them alone for a single day. Plus, I'm still going to be around and keep an eye out for trouble."

"Tea's ready!" announced Belldandy with a bright smile on her face, pouring a cup for all three of them, although she did found it strange to serve some to a cat; although she couldn't remember why it troubled her.

"Thank you very much," said Vali, using his uninjured hand to accept the cup.

"Oh, it's my pleasure, really." Setting the last remaining cup in front of her father, the Norn of the present was still struggling to recall what was so wrong about the situation.

However, the answer to her question came faster than she was anticipating, when her father nearly choked on his tea.

" _BITTER!_ "

'Of course! Such intense taste may not be suitable for a cat and… oh no!'

While Belldandy panicked to get a glass of water for her father, another figure couldn't help but laugh at that scene, before she turned her screen off.

'Hm… Interesting. So _he_ finally decided to take care of his firstborn. Well... would you look at that! Perhaps I'll wait a bit and see what he can do.'

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

I would also like to thank for ObeliskX for the initial suggestion for a reverse harem setting that led to this story.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

Belldandy's introduction was kind of strange, although it was partially inspired by the scene where Keiichi meets a fortune teller that gets possessed by Tyr. Here, the fortune teller herself was a goddess and the outcome of her drinking the cola was very similar to what actually happened in the series, too.

Speaking of her, I'm not planning to keep her around Urd for too long, although, she's still going to be a character for this story and the same can be said about Skuld too. There is an explanation to that (story wise), although, it's also to prevent it from becoming too similar to my other stories as well as the canon series.

On the other hand, it was a nice opportunity to get a scene with Vali and reveal some information about him, before he meets Urd and Keiichi. I originally wanted to already introduce him, but, decided against it, to avoid making it too forced.

This means that the story might get a bit longer, but then again, I don't want to make it feel rushed, even though I have no intentions to turn this into another huge one either. However, I won't go as far and waste a nice idea that could've made it into the story.

Technically, there was no official explanation as to why the temple was in such a poor condition, so I had to improvise and come up with something that didn't make the monk look as too negligent of his temple. Still, he's prone to misunderstand things and make poor decisions, but, at the very least, he has some excuse; no matter how flimsy it might be.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

* * *

"Hey, you want some help up there?"

"No! Thanks, Urd, but I can handle it!"

Smiling at the bronze skinned goddess who was weeding the temple grounds, Keiichi was rather impressed with her insistence to give him a hand. Perched on top of the roof, the young mechanic was replacing a particularly bad patch of cracked tiles; one of the several spots where water managed to leak into the house. Being the lightest of all three of them, Keiichi had volunteered to be the one to get up there, fearing that Urd could've fallen through the roof, considering that years of water damage might've rotted the underlying structure. After all, one of the temple's wooden steps had broken yesterday, resulting in a rather embarrassing incident. This time however, it was a far more serious matter; one that could result with one of them ending up in the hospital and Keiichi didn't want that to be Urd.

The goddess had even managed to surprise him with her far less aggressive attitude since they moved in earlier today, getting a day off from their jobs at Whirlwind to get this done. And to make sure that they didn't seem like a bunch of liars who made an empty promise, they immediately started with the repairs instead of relaxing for the rest of the day. A rather wise decision in Keiichi's opinion now that he got a glimpse of what was going on up there. It would've been rather bad to postpone those fixes and have to go through the possibly uncomfortable experience of having the roof leak on them during a storm or even regular rainfall.

However, not everything in the house was in such a terrible state. The interior was in a fairly decent shape and the bath was a considerably more luxurious one; at least compared to the rather pathetic excuse he had to cope with previously. Perhaps the biggest problem was the fact that it was a traditional Japanese furo, not a modern one. This meant that in order to warm up the water, a bonfire was necessary, unlike the conveniences of an electric boiler or any other automated heating systems that were now common in most houses.

Interestingly, while he did notice Urd's wince when she first heard the bad news, the bronze skinned beauty had avoiding any complains at all. Most other women he knew would've definitely been more vocal about this problem or even assign that menial task to him; yet she did none of that. Of course there was always the possibility that due to the fact that this was a temporary arrangement, Urd could simply ignore it as a mere setback; or at the very least the price for staying here for free.

Still, Keiichi had to admit that his roommate was an even more interesting person than he had initially expected of her. In many ways, she didn't adhere to the stereotype of a gorgeous, yet spoiled, princess-like person with an aversion to menial tasks. Urd was currently working at least as hard as him, plucking the weeds that covered most of the temple grounds and she didn't seem to mind it too much. Even more, she was dressed in a rather humble T-shirt and a pair of work overalls she had borrowed from him, making her look dramatically different from her typical flashy appearance. Actually, with her hair tied up to keep them from getting in the way and her cat following her around, Urd almost looked like a humble housewife instead of the mischievous and playful woman he came to know.

Unfortunately for the young mortal, keeping his eyes off his hammer and to the goddess over by the bell tower was a foolish mistake. As the hammerhead found his thumb instead of the nail he was trying to hit, Keiichi couldn't help but scream in a not so dignified manner, making both the goddess and her cat to turn towards him.

"Are you okay over there?"

"I-I'm fine!" said the pained Keiichi, cradling his stricken thumb in hopes of making it feel a bit better. "I just hit myself with the hammer."

" _Seriously!..._ " Letting a sigh, Urd shook her head as she approached the ladder her roommate used in order to get up in the roof. "Don't tell me that you've been looking at my ass while I was working. I know that the overalls are a bit too tight back there, but, you shouldn't risk hurting yourself to get a glimpse you know…"

" _NO! I wasn't doing that!_ "

" _Uh huh…_ Look, I'm not going to say anything even if you did, but don't end up in the hospital because of it," said Urd with a frown. "I can let you watch me as much as you want, but not while doing something like that. This is way too dangerous!"

"It was a genuine accident!" insisted Keiichi, making no further comments about the goddess' words. Even if it was an actual offer and not mere teasing, he had no intention to accept such a thing. Not only he would sound like a letch who only view her as a piece of meat, but their current situation required some more restraint. "Actually… you shouldn't say things like that, Urd. It's going to be very hard to explain ourselves to the monk if he believes that we're doing things like while he's not looking."

"Okay, you've a point there, Keiichi; I'll give you that much. Now, come closer and let me take a look at that." Not trusting to get on the roof along with Keiichi, Urd simply waited for him to approach her instead. The last thing they needed was to make the old structure collapse under their combined weight and result in a far more serious accident. "Hm… that's not anything too serious, although it needs some attention. Come on, let's get to the kitchen and put some ice on it. Also, I'll call Chihiro to tell her that you're not going to work tomorrow."

"Huh? What for? I'm not _that_ hurt, Urd. I can definitely go to…"

"No you won't! If you push it too much, the swelling will get much worse and you might get an infection," said Urd, as she got to the ground with Keiichi following her. "Underestimating this and trying to act tough will only get you into worse trouble, Keiichi. You won't do any of us a favor if you end up with a worse injury than you current one."

"But… what about the monk?" tried the mortal, only to back off as he saw the goddess narrow her eyes.

"If he was so concerned about this pigsty of a temple, then he would've joined us instead of sleeping over at the main building. Oh, sorry!... I meant _meditating…_ " The sarcasm was more than noticeable and left very little room for negotiations. It was a clear sign that she had no desire to discuss the topic any further and he had to better get used to the idea whether he liked it or not.

"Yes, Urd…"

XXX

"So, he won't be coming tomorrow? It's okay, just make sure he gets some rest. He's a bit of a dummy and tries too hard for others to the point where he ignores what's the best for him."

"I kinda noticed that, actually." Holding the phone's headset closer to her, Urd was happy that their boss wasn't making a big deal out of it. Some of her previous employers would be immediately start talking about how long it was going to take, the disruption in their schedules and the need to rearrange the shifts to compensate for that and so on. Anything except from showing some genuine concern over someone's illness or injury which was typically displayed by some half hearted comment to get well; and even then, not everyone actually bothered to say it.

"Hm... Now that I think of it, why don't you use the opportunity to go out with him on a date tomorrow? I can let you have a day off as well."

That made the goddess pause for a moment, as she honestly wasn't expecting it and had no actual answer ready. She sure enjoyed to tease the boy with a lot of suggestions and jokes, but… dating him was a much bolder thing for her. Even realizing her previous offer to show him a bit of her body was easier, as it lacked any emotional attachment and could be taken for what it was and nothing more. As a matter of fact, there were certain moments in the past few days when she actually toyed with the idea of sleeping with him. What made her hesitate, however, wasn't the act itself, but the aftermath and the impact it would have on their relationship.

So far, the two of them could be described as friends and roommates, even though others tried to see them as a couple due to the fact that they were of opposite genders. A rather shallow reason in her opinion and the very cause of her hesitation. Just because they could have sex, it didn't mean that it was a great idea, especially if it made everything too awkward from that point on.

A date was different of course, yet a step closer to a decision that the goddess was reluctant to take; make a bold move or keep a distance and park the boy in the much dreaded _friend zone_. Despite their discussion a few days ago and the time they spent living together, Urd was nowhere closer to make her mind up about that matter and the longer she stayed with him, the harder it got. As mere acquaintances, it was easier for her to turn Keiichi down without any remorse, should it got to the point where he'd desire a more permanent commitment. However, as friends things were a bit more complicated, since Urd didn't want to hurt his feelings, yet getting into a relationship out of pity was far from satisfying either.

On the other hand, she had never thought that she would've to face that situation this early on. Sure, the fact that they ended up living under the same roof had significantly accelerated things with everyone's assumption of them being a couple causing both to wonder about it. She had often caught Keiichi looking at her with a thoughtful expression, and despite her teasing she was fully aware that his mind was preoccupied with more serious matters than getting a glimpse of her skin. Not that he was totally innocent and didn't try to see her more _interesting_ parts, as she offered him numerous chances for that and despite his claims, he _did_ enjoy the show.

"Hello? Are you still there, Urd?"

Shaking her head to snap out of it, the goddess had realized that she had been quiet for a while, and decided to try and offer a reply before her boss thought that the line was dead. "Oh, sorry about that! I was just thinking, and… Well, you know how Keiichi likes to drive anywhere with his bike, right? Taking him on a date under these conditions could be a problem, given that his left thumb is injured and everything…"

"Hm… I haven't thought about it. Still, you can take a day off since getting all the way here on your own is going to be a problem. Just make sure that he's doing okay and doesn't stress himself too much."

"Who, _me?_ I was planning to marathon some TV shows…" said Urd with a giggle, as Chihiro also seemed to laugh a bit at her little joke. "But, I might have to spend some time babysitting him."

"Right… Well, see you later then. And good luck with our naughty boy!"

"Sure thing, boss!"

Ending the call, Urd was somewhat disappointed with herself. In the end, she had to rely on an excuse instead of an honest reply and claimed that it was Keiichi's condition the reason why she didn't want to go on a date. It was far from the truth, although even Urd herself didn't know what that was supposed to be.

From a certain perspective, she could simply avoid the problem and exploit his natural shyness, expecting that he wouldn't try to ask her out on his own. Still, that felt like a rather bad thing to do to anyone, let alone a friend and as such, Urd thought that it wasn't the right way to resolve the problem. On the other hand, a date sounded like lots of fun and she even found the idea of taking him to a love hotel as rather appealing to her. Actually, she had nearly gone too far on a few occasions already, the worst being while preparing dinner the other day. She was humming a cheerful tone she heard from the radio, and while Keiichi could only see her back, thinking that this was perfectly normal. He was blissfully unaware that the bronze skinned goddess was actually unbuttoning her top and the cutesy dance she was was performing actually doubled as a private strip show.

Only at the very last moment did she stop and consider what she was about to do, buttoning her clothes up and going back to preparing their dinner; thankful that all this time Keiichi couldn't really see what she was doing. It was something that she hadn't put any thought in it and simply acted on an impulse, although that could've ended up in a pretty awkward situation, even if he responded well to her ministrations. Urd had often caught herself thinking in contradicting ways, and for the most part she kept quiet about it, fearing that the few people she considered as friends would distance themselves from her should they learn about her perks.

The most scary part was the impact it had on herself; making Urd question her own motives and actions on several occasions. At first, she thought that amnesia was the biggest of her problems, but as soon as she realized that there was some kind of conflict in her mind with what appeared to be two sides locked in a tug of war for control over her consciousness, Urd's confidence plummeted. She would still act all cheerful and attempted to ignore it as much as she could, dismissing it as a weird side effect of her amnesia, yet it was still something that she couldn't totally forget about.

In a way, she no longer trusted herself with impulses and hasty decisions. What people called a gut feeling could be a very misleading thing for her and even now, most of her teasing was carefully calculated and less of a spontaneous thing as it used to be before. She wished to be certain about her actions and not end up hurting anyone because her mind was set on one thing and moments later, it decided that she wanted something entirely different. For most matters, it wasn't that bad and she was able to act normally; albeit in a bit of a fickle and temperamental way, which most considered to be the norm for her anyway. Even Urd herself wasn't aware of the way her mind worked until she caught what she considered two parts of her mind arguing with each other; one eagerly wanting to seduce Keiichi with carnal pleasures and the other trying to stop her as the boy wasn't so simple minded and would most likely freak out and distance himself from her, ruining any further chances she had with him.

The strangest part though was that while it was undeniably a source of stress, for some reason Urd felt as if this was normal; even if common logic contradicted that belief. It was simply not the way the human mind worked and in most cases, such intense conflicts were a telltale sign of some mental disorder. However, for the bronze skinned goddess the more she tried to fight it, the worse it became and soon it was apparent that accepting this situation and finding compromises between the two sides in her mind was truly the best way to solve the problem.

This robbed her of the ability to make long term decisions on the sport, though; something that always came up when she tried to think about Keiichi and their relationship so far. By all means, it wasn't a pressing matter, as they only knew each other for a couple of days; far too soon to consider such topics in most cases. The only unique thing about them was the fact that they've ended up living together in such a short period of time. Normally, it takes weeks or even years before a couple decides to take that step and move forward with their relationship; certainly not days.

However, even that wasn't the worst of her troubles and in all irony, she was to blame for the biggest one of them all; her teasing. If she wasn't that forward on so many occasions, then Keiichi's shy nature would've prevented him from taking that next step for quite a while, giving the goddess the time she truly needed to make up her mind. But her insistent teasing and jokes were almost a game of Russian roulette for her, one that she could lose at any moment. The longer she was around Keiichi, the more familiar he became with her and at some point he could simply decide to give in and take her offer.

Dismissing it all as a game would most certainly convince the young mechanic that she wasn't one to be taken seriously, although if she did, then she would've to make a decision on the spot and she still wasn't sure about it. Yet, suddenly stopping all that teasing would most certainly be a rather noticeable change in her mannerisms and Keiichi was more than smart enough to get a hint that she wanted to keep a distance; something that could be easily taken as rejection.

'Great… Damned if I do, damned if I don't. What a nice way to get myself in a deadlock, and it's all thanks to my brilliant sense of humor. I even offered to show him my bottom and one of these days, he's going to say _yes_. As mom used to say, once you drop your skirt, your panties won't take long to follow.'

As if struck by lighting, Urd's thought processes came to a grinding halt, realizing that for the shortest of moments an eerily familiar voice came to her mind, along with a simple yet important word: _mother_. She couldn't remember her name, or even what she looked like, and the resulting assault of emotions caused by that tiny flashback was more than enough to make her both happy and scared.

'Okay… Calm down… Don't freak out…everything's alright...'

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Urd tried to maintain her cool. She had almost given up at making any further attempts to remembering her past after the first few weeks she's been here on Nekomi. None of them yielded any results and the only actual accomplishment was to make her even more frustrated than she was before.

This was probably the breakthrough she was expecting, although, Urd had no idea what to make of it yet. There was nothing very specific about that little segment of lost memory and certainly not enough to answer any of the most important questions and shed some light into her past.

'Alright, let's not worry too much and let things happen without too much struggle. It didn't work back then, and all I'll even manage to do is get stressed out about it. I only hope that my family isn't worried for me and I'll eventually get to tell them that I'm doing fine. In the meantime… let's see how Keiichi's doing. Hm… instead of a _date_ , we might just hang around a bit and avoid all the implications of that single word. Friends spend time with each other, right?'

XXX

"Father ordered you to stay in bed!"

"It was a _recommendation_ , not a direct order and as such, my decision isn't a direct violation of protocol."

Exploring the dusty, water damaged and dark attic above the residence's ceiling, Vali was using the space given to them as an easy way of observing the half goddess and her mortal friend with minimal chances of detection. And given their ability to turn themselves in a tiny form, the god and his reluctant accomplice were negotiating their way through the numerous cobwebs built between the roof's support beams.

"I'm fairly sure that a direct order wasn't necessary in a situation like this. Still, his will was for you to stay in bed," insisted the brunette as she went after the obstinate war god cadet. It wasn't too shocking for someone who aspired to become a full member of the Fighting Wings to be rather stubborn, although when it came to health issues, Belldandy wished that such _recommendations_ were taken seriously. Trying to act tough could lead into unnecessary risks that could've been avoided otherwise; not that mattered to the blue haired god who simply pressed on. Worse yet, cadets often felt that they had to prove their worth and coupled with their enthusiasm, they tended to make things even harder for themselves.

"I appreciate your concern, but it's unneeded. I'm feeling more that ready to carry on with my assignment, and sitting there doing nothing is hardly what I'd consider as necessary. After all, I'm not expected to fight anyone at the moment and being slightly injured is hardly a real obstacle in a surveillance mission," replied Vali as he paused to keep some notes in a diagram of the house, indicating what the rooms below them were, areas of interest and finally, the sleeping arrangements.

Feeling that arguing even further would've been pointless, Belldandy simply let out a tired sigh and peeked through the hole on the ceiling, or rather… the floor from her point of view. They were currently directly above Urd and Keiichi's room, where the dark haired mechanic rested while reading a magazine. His left thumb was carefully bandaged and although he had some trouble to turn the pages without using his thumb, there were no other signs of discomfort.

'Urd did a great job taking care of him. It's nice to see her act like that and show others her real personality as a sensitive goddess, instead of the popular depiction as a wild and mischievous messenger of chaos and destruction.'

XXX

"Hey, Keiichi? Can I come in?"

"Huh?" Blinking, the young mortal turned towards the door, wondering why she was hesitating to open it. "There's no lock, Urd… Just come in."

"It's generally considered polite to ask before barging in, like a mom who's trying to catch her son reading a porno magazine," replied Urd with a wink as she walked into the room.

"You should know by now, that I prefer motorcycle magazines," was the mortal's calm reply, an indication that her antics didn't had such a strong effect on him.

Although immediately noticeable, Urd tried to ignore the urge to retaliate and tease him even further and instead, she decided to focus her attention elsewhere. "How's your thumb? Feeling better?"

"It's a bit swollen, however, it doesn't hurt as long as I'm not stressing it," replied Keiichi as he held up his hand and flexed his thumb a bit for her to see. "By the way, what did Chihiro say about this?"

"We've got a day off, so we can do whatever we want, tomorrow," said Urd with a smile as she sat next to him.

" _We?_ "

"Yeah… Chihiro thought that it was going to be a pain for me to go to work without a vehicle, so, I've got a day off as well." Pausing to give it a final thought, Urd decided to go along with her plan and try to ask him to spend the day with her, without making it sound like a date. "Say… I know that we're supposed to stay home, but… How about we head downtown tomorrow? It's nice up here, but… I'd rather avoid to work on this temple on my own. Besides… the whole thing is starting to piss me off. I mean, what kind of slob lets this place to get so run down?"

"Shh! Don't say such things, Urd! The monk could hear you!" said Keiichi, trying to avoid insulting their host. "As the guests here, it's improper to make such remarks about our generous host."

"It's the truth and you know it, Keiichi."

"Even so, it's impolite to say it like that. Look, I get that we've got our hands full with the repairs, but… we did ask for it, right?" countered Keiichi, raising an eyebrow.

"In my defense, I've never expected the damage to be this bad," said Urd with a frustrated sigh. "It's a wonder that this place is still in one piece instead of a pile of rotten wood. I mean… everything seems to be worn down and in desperate need for repairs."

"Yeah… I thought that we could possibly fix most of the problems, but a few of them are so serious that I doubt that we can, or even know how to tackle that at all. I'm a mechanic, not a carpenter and I've got little idea as to how to repair some of the rotting support beams up in the roof. Even if I manage to replace all the problematic tiles, it's still possible that the whole thing might collapse under its own weight," said Keiichi with a frown. "Perhaps we should tell the monk that he desperately needs to contact some professionals for the needed repairs, as we're clearly way out of our league with this one."

"Assuming he cares…"

"Urd!…"

"Okay, okay! I know that I'm not being polite, but, it's the truth! This whole mess started from his laziness or whatever excuse he might had at the time, and now it's almost impossible to deal with. Because of how run down this place is, there are very few visitors who are willing to donate money and without that, there's absolutely no chance to ever gather the necessary funds for a _proper_ restoration project. In all seriousness, Keiichi, I doubt that there's much anyone can do right now. Even if he agrees with us, the biggest problem is the sheer lack of money," explained the Norn of the past. "No matter how hard we might work, it's impossible to fix everything without the right materials and so far, we've only tried to tackle the least problematic things. Soon, we'll have to replace stuff that's too worn out and there's no way I'm paying for that."

"Well, I never said she should pay for the repairs; not that we could afford it, anyway," said Keiichi, trying to come up with a reply. He was slightly taken aback by how annoyed the goddess had suddenly became and he wondered whether she could handle this kind of work on a daily basis. Worse, they haven't even gotten back at their _actual work_ and from the day after tomorrow, things would get even harder for them once they'll have to do this after a long shift over at Whirlwind. "Look, Urd, I know that you're frustrated, but, I'm pretty sure that the monk isn't..."

"I know…" said the platinum haired goddess, before he could finish. "It's easy to blame him for our problems, when it was actually me who got us in this terrible position. Not only you ended up getting yourself hurt, but, if this goes on, we'll never manage to find the time to search for an apartment. Also, we can't keep asking Chihiro to let us go early, as it already feels like we're exploiting her kindness, while on the other hand, doing nothing here would make us look like a bunch of freeloaders. What a mess!..."

"It's not your fault, Urd…"

"No, it is! And you tried to warn me, but like always, I refused to listen!" said the frustrated goddess. "I thought this was going to be much easier than it was and only now I've come to realize just how wrong I've been."

"Yes, although, I was the one staring at your bum and ended up hitting my own thumb in the process," said Keiichi with a laugh, trying to lighten up the mood with a little joke. And for the most part his plan _did_ work, as the goddess' lips curved up in a smile.

Urd was perfectly aware that he was attempting to cheer her up, given how frustrated she had gotten with their current situation and her own share of the responsibility. To begin with, it was her fault that Keiichi was kicked out of his apartment by bringing in a cat, even though she was perfectly aware that it was against the rules to do so. Then she decided that helping the monk in exchange for a place to stay was an amazing deal; something that took only a few hours to make her realize just how wrong she had been.

Since the day her met her, Keiichi's life had slowly gotten harder and harder, losing his apartment and ultimately getting in a seemingly endless odyssey to find a place for them to stay. Most people in his place would've given up on her by now, and yet, he still tried to make her feel better. That's what really cheered her up, and not the seemingly silly joke or the way he nervously scratched the back of his head.

"What can I say?... I'm too beautiful for my own good!"

XXX

Right above the two of them, another goddess echoed such thoughts, smiling warmly at how supportive this young man was. Her sister had the bad habit of making hasty and impulsive decisions and as such it wasn't surprising that she often caused a lot of trouble; both to herself and those around her. As a result, Urd tended to have few friends, with most celestials considering her a harbinger of bad news, while some of the least open minded simply rejected her on grounds of her demonic descent.

With some humans, there was always the possibility of getting into all the trouble to deal with her as a method to motivate the amorous Norn to offering them a more… physical form of reward. Kind words and smiles were good, but, the pleasures of the flesh were way better for some and as such, a few sacrifices were acceptable. However, most people's patience had its limits and her sister was fully aware of that, even exploiting it for her own good.

While considered as a shameless flirt, Urd wasn't in a rush to let anyone into her panties. Not only she enjoyed teasing them, but, by postponing what most were really after, Urd avoided the vast majority of those who only wanted her for her body and her body alone. She had no real problems with the more physical aspect of dating someone, although at the same time, Urd wished that there was a bit more to it than that and her personality also contributed into the entire situation.

And much to Belldandy's delight, that appeared to be the case with this mortal as well, given how genuine he sounded to be. It was evident that he was indeed attracted by her sister's looks, however unlike others before him, Keiichi's concern for her wasn't just a means in order to get laid. Also, despite his own problems and shortcomings when it came to women, Keiichi wasn't attempting to make himself sound like a poor victim of his bad luck or complain about it.

As a matter of fact, Urd despised those who tried to make others feel sorry for them only to gain something in return, considering such tactics as dirty and underhanded. Even if she was known to lie on multiple occasions herself, her sister never attempted to deceive others in such a fashion that would hurt or exploit them. In most cases those were mere white lies or an attempt to cover for her mistakes, although there were also examples when she actually tried to protect her sisters with them.

The goddess' thoughts were interrupted by a loud cracking sound and before either of the two spying celestials could react, one of them suddenly disappeared; falling into the room below them. It all happened so abruptly that by the time they realized what was going on, it was far too late to stop it.

Vali had fallen into the room, and both Urd as well as Keiichi were staring at him.

'Oh, dear!… This wasn't supposed to happen!'

XXX

" _WHOA!_ "

Both the room's occupants paused and turned to the source of the interruption, moving away from the falling panel. They might've talking about the temple's state of disrepair, but even then, they never expected the roof to collapse right on top of them like that.

They did felt some relief of knowing that this was merely a single panel coming loose from the ceiling and not the entire thing, although the tiny god that also came along was something far too strange for them.

" _Huh?! W-What's t-that?!_ " stammered Keiichi, as he stared at the blue haired god who floated in mid air.

'Shoot! This is so bad!... Now what?' While he had successfully stopped himself from falling flat on the floor, Vali was already spotted and considering that he expected that neither of them would try to see through the holes in the ceiling, he wasn't using any stealth spell to conceal himself. Something that eventually came to be a serious error of judgment as his initial surprise had robbed him of any way to prevent the two roommates from realizing that they've been spied upon.

Worse, there was no easy way out of this predicament, either. Using the command voice wasn't going to work on Urd, as overwhelming an immortal's will required a substantially greater mental strength, at least compared of doing the same to a human. On the other hand, while the best option was a memory wipe spell, Urd's condition complicated matters even further. With the half goddess already being amnesiac, casting a spell that would inhibit her memories even further was out of question; therefore leaving the god with no viable options. "H-Hello?..."

"Hi there." For some bizarre reason, Urd's response was far more controlled than her friend's panicked reaction. It seemed that the bronze skinned beauty didn't find the sight of this miniature floating guy to be something as strange as one might've expected, although she had no idea why. By any means, it should've been an impossible thing to witness; yet she almost considered it as normal.

There was a long pause as the three of them stared at each other, with Belldandy trying to hide herself before she was spotted, too. The situation had taken a turn for the worse and Vali was now worrying that this was a truly epic failure on his part. As an aspiring warrior it was required to remain vigilant at all times, yet he somehow got so distracted that he ended up making a huge mess out of simple mission.

'Great… At this rate, I'll end up joining her with my license suspended too!'

Staring between the two of them, Keiichi was really baffled as to why Urd hadn't freaked out. He was very close to do that himself and only struggled to avoid that in order to look brave in front of his roommate. Urd however, wasn't just brave; she was totally unaffected by this rather crazy development, making Keiichi feel as if he was a wimp. Still, as he kept looking at the tiny person who remained in mid air, against all laws of physics, he did notice something peculiar. 'Wait a moment… he's got some blue markings on his face. Just like Urd does...'

As a matter of fact, that was also something the goddess had caught on and raised an eyebrow, while studying their visitor's face. 'He's got three upside down triangles on his forehead, arranged in a larger one that looks exactly like mine; minus that central part… And there's a triangle on each of his cheek too. Unless that's a huge coincidence, there has to be a connection between us, although, he looks nothing like me. If not a relative, then someone from my… country?'

Instead of asking him any of that, Urd decided to make a simple and yet strange statement that caught even herself by surprise after she heard her own voice. "You're a god."

"That I am," was the short and straight to the point answer, although Vali omitted the 'so are you' part that he almost said before he decided against it, at the very last moment. There was no telling how much she had remembered, if she did manage to recall anything at all. The strange thing with amnesia was that the memories weren't destroyed; they were merely beyond a person's reach. And while she could possibly recall things, those might be totally random stuff and not necessarily enough to assume that she remembered everything.

"Huh? A god? What?" Keiichi was now confused beyond words. The whole situation was getting more bizarre by every passing second and he had no idea what to make of any of this. "Can someone explain what's going on here? Why is there a gnome in our room and what's up with those markings? Also… a _god?_ "

"I'm not authorized to say much, but to answer one of your questions, those markings are my low level control programs that regulate my energy pathways. Or, to put it in a far easier way for you to understand, it's a mark to indicate my nature," said Vali, while the mortal took a few uneasy steps towards him, with curiosity evident in his face. "Also, I'm not a gnome."

Keiichi was really hesitant to accept that explanation, worrying that whoever came forward with such a bold statement these days was either delusional or part of some crazy cult and all sorts of similar schemes to promote bizarre religions as an easy way of making money. Not that he had any to donate, but, the potential of dealing with a bunch of nutcases was something that the dark haired mechanic really wished to avoid if possible. Worse, Urd's markings and whatever connection she may had with such a group troubled him even more, especially given her apparent amnesia.

Still, the fact that he was staring at a tiny version of a person was clearly beyond his ability to explain and it sure wasn't a case of tricks with mirrors or some other kind of special effect. It was the real deal and as such, a tiny part of his mind mulled the possibility that the blue haired man was telling them the truth. On top of that, it was Urd who originally identified him as such and that by itself was even more puzzling than anything else. "Okay… Let's assume that you are indeed a god. Um… what can you actually do to prove it?"

"Prove it?" asked the confused Vali, tilting his head. "What exactly are you expecting anyway?"

"I dunno… It's not like I had a list of things to ask in case I've met a deity, but…" started Keiichi, struggling to come up with something worthy of a divine being. "What's the meaning of life?"

"To enjoy it."

"That's it?"

"It's not a difficult concept to understand. It's how you get there that varies between individuals and the more people you ask, the more opinions you're going to hear," said Vali with a shrug. "And don't get me started with what people consider as joy. That's a whole different discussion that's too complicated even for me to comprehend."

"Okay, I guess that sounds fair," replied Keiichi with mixed feelings. It was an answer that made sense, yet it was probably something that any human could also come up with. Of course, he wasn't certain what kind of response would've been fitting for a god or why something cryptic and mysterious was actually better than that; still, the dark haired mortal needed a feat that was clearly beyond the abilities of a human to actually believe that this being was indeed a god. "Hm… can you actually use magic or something? You know, some kind of power or another?"

"Aside from hovering before your very own eyes?" countered Vali with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh… Yes?..."

"Actually, I'm sorry to interrupt, but, there's _one_ question I've got and I think it's far more important than proving the obvious," said Urd, who at this point had already connected the dots in her mind, even if she was hesitant to accept it. "I'm not a human, right?"

This was exactly the type of question Vali had really wished to avoid. His whole mission was meant to simply observe her, not to come into contact with the amnesiac Norn and this was even worse. Telling her about her past could potentially have unknown consequences and for a moment he really wished to have an easy way of fixing this mess; although, even gods with powers beyond the mortals' imagination, had their limits. "No, you're not."

"I knew it…" said Urd with a sigh, her shoulders slumping a bit, while Keiichi blinked hard at her.

He, too was already suspecting that this was the case, although hearing it was still as surprising as if he was blissfully unaware of it. It was more than obvious that Urd wasn't a typical example of a woman, even as a foreigner, although he had never expected the explanation to be _this_ bizarre. "A... goddess?"

Both the immortals turned to the mechanic and for several long moments, neither was certain what to respond to that. Vali was already in deep trouble with his new blunder, while Urd was getting worried that her roommate and friend would immediately distance himself from her. It was one thing to consider her as a pretty and exotic girl, and a totally different matter to think of her as goddess; along with all sorts of expectations, superstitions and beliefs humans had associated with that particular word. 'And a few minutes ago I was considering to go on a date with him. Now, I wish I had already done that… There's no way this won't affect his attitude towards me.'

Letting a sigh, Urd decided to leave that issue for later and focus on what she could make out of this god, before he disappeared into thin air. It was her best opportunity to get some answers and so far she felt that the blue haired deity wasn't going to reveal more on his own, so, she had to press him for those precious bits of information.

"Can you tell me what's going on here? I've clearly lost my memories, although I'm not sure why you're really here, though."

"To put it simply, your license was suspended due to messing up with one of our computer systems. However, for reasons unknown to anyone, that somehow blocked your memories, resulting in your current case of amnesia; even though it was never supposed to happen. Rest assured that we've already have people working on how to resolve this situation, although for the time being it was considered wise to monitor you, instead of leaving you totally on your own," explained Vali, finally deciding that it was more appropriate for him to assume his real size and with a puff of smoke, the war god cadet resumed his normal humanoid form. Standing taller than Urd and of course, Keiichi, the cadet was clad in a white uniform that resembled something out of a video game or manga, but despite that, he appeared to be as normal as any other human; except for the fact that he had dark blue hair and those markings on his face. "By the way, I'm god second class, special category, probational license, Vali. At your services."

"Uh… license? You mean, that gods have licenses?" asked the baffled Keiichi, who tried to recover from watching that tiny person turn into someone taller than him.

"Yes, and as I've already mentioned, she also has one. It's a way to classify ourselves depending on our position in our society. That has to do with the class which is an indication on how much power we're allowed to use; providing that we're actually strong enough to meet the requirements of course. The type of our license has more to do with the kind of job we're doing. For example, I've got a special type on, which indicates that I'm working in our security forces. Although, I'm only a cadet, so, I've got a probational one."

"So, you're a warrior?" asked Keiichi, eying the blue haired god with an apprehensive look.

"Indeed I am," said Vali, summoning his battleaxe with a proud smile on his face. However, as he slammed the pole on the floor, he momentarily forgot about the rotting ceiling panels. As a result of that vibration, yet another one was dislodged from its place and came crashing down.

Without missing a beat, Vali was determined to put his acute senses to work and unlike moments ago, he turned his focus on the falling debris, raising his axe in an overhead swing. In a single motion, the panel was cleanly cut in two pieces that harmlessly fell on the floor on either side of him, leaving the ceiling with yet another hole right next to the one he originally entered from.

The god's smile was immediately turned into a frown when he noticed the others' stunned expressions. As a matter of fact, Keiichi was about to pass out, his entire face so red that must've been unhealthy for a human, while Urd looked down, her eyes wide in surprise. It took him a second to follow her glance and realize that this was probably a blunder even worse than any of his recent ones. Apparently the god was on a roll these last few days, and he seemed to have even forgotten one of his mother's most basic lessons.

' _Be mindful of what's in the path of your swing.'_

It would appear that he had miscalculated his distance from Urd and the result was the tip of his poleaxe coming into contact with the goddess' clothes. Thankfully she wasn't close enough to actually hit her, although in a strange turn of events, that tip cut through her overalls, T-shirt and all the way to her bra, forming a vertical opening to her top that wasn't there moments ago. Coupled by the fact that it was one borrowed from Keiichi, that made it already a bit too tight and the very moment his axe tore it in such a fashion, her chest was revealed in a most spectacular manner. 'Why me?...'

While Vali wished for a hole to hide in, Urd was staring at this modification to her outfit and while she would've laughed with how silly it was, there seemed to be a bit of a problem with the half goddess. She may enjoyed causing all kinds of mischief and pulling pranks on others, however, she wasn't exactly a big fan of being at the receiving end of one and while an accident, this was too similar to an actual prank.

" _Why you…_ "

"No wait! It was a genuine error! An accident!" tried the blue haired god, watching with great concern as the goddess did little to cover herself and instead raised a hand skywards; a clear sign of her intention to cast a spell and smite him for his transgression.

"Too late! I su-..." started Urd when she stopped in mid sentence, trying to figure out what she was actually about to say. It was an impulsive reaction and for the most part, she acted by reflex, although she found herself having problems to come up with what she was supposed to do next.

Above them, Belldandy felt a wave of relief as she lowered the shield she had cast around the entire house, worrying that her amnesiac sister would go overboard and cause some serious damage, even by accident. She was happy when parts of Urd's old personality resurfaced, knowing that her beloved big sister was still there and her current persona wasn't an artificial one, but merely an aspect of herself that she rarely displayed under normal conditions. The only problem was the potential of inadvertently harm anyone by using her powers without being fully aware of what she was doing. As long as she acted like a human, there was no such risk, although, things were different now.

Another possible problem and perhaps an even worse one was her relationship with Keiichi. The mortal man was very supportive of Urd and Belldandy was happy that her sister was finally getting along with someone who was truly worthy of her. It would've been sad if the boy suddenly became intimidated by her true nature, although, the brunette goddess expected that it was probably a matter of time before he'd learn that his roommate wasn't a human like him. Urd's previous boyfriend abandoned her to pursue his own interests and having Keiichi do something similar due to her nature was certainly going to make matters far worse for the half goddess. Still, there was nothing that could be done at the moment, other than hoping for the best and that's exactly what Belldandy prayed for.

In a weird case of irony, despite the fact that she had granted numerous wishes, hers was denied, and even more, it was Urd the one responsible for that. While everyone, Belldandy included, started to relax as the half goddess stood there confused, Urd's hand suddenly crackled with electricity. All of a sudden, her memory jolted and managed to recall the crucial bit of information she was missing. Like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle, the moment it clicked into place, Urd could finally see the entire picture and with a nostalgic feeling, she took everyone by surprise when she finished her incantation.

" _I summon lightning!_ "

Almost instantly, thunder descended from the sky above and it was too late to stop it. Hitting the old structure with its destructive force, it took no time to reduce it into a smoldering pile of debris. Already in a poor shape and being made from wood and other light materials, the traditional Japanese home stood no chance against the goddess' wrath and it was only thanks to the barrier cast by Vali that, Keiichi had avoided to end up in a similar state.

"W-What was that?..." Looking at the devastation around him, the dark haired mechanic was visibly shaken as he was suddenly outside, or rather… the house around him simply disappeared. There was very little left behind to resemble an actual structure and for a moment he could hear his own heartbeat due to the adrenaline rush; a result of his body pleading him to run away from whatever caused this.

"Oops…" The aforementioned cause of this devastation had finally snapped out of whatever murderous mood she was and visibly winced when she came to realize just what she had actually done. Folding her arms in front of her to keep the torn T-shirt together and prevent others from getting a free show, Urd felt like a toddler who had just broken her mother's favorite vase and Keiichi's scared look didn't help things at all. If he wasn't already intimidated by her, he now had the perfect reason to fear her and distance from the amnesiac goddess.

Meanwhile, the monk who had obviously heard the commodity, rushed out of the main temple and towards the scene of destruction with a look of utter disbelief in his face, offering a small prayer once he stood before the ravaged house. "Heavens above! What a calamity! Is everyone okay?"

"Y-Yes, we're both fine," answered Urd, while she approached him with the shell shocked Keiichi following close behind her. She had managed to maintain a decent appearance and while damaged, her clothes provided enough coverage for the time being, although it was unlikely that the monk would accuse her of anything. From his perspective, she and Keiichi were lucky to survive this without much of a scratch and a torn T-shirt was nothing at all.

"What happened? It felt like a thunder struck the house!"

"Actually, that's exactly what took place here," said Urd, avoiding to mention anything about her role in this, or the presence of Vali who was hiding amidst the rubble. It was already bad enough that Keiichi got to learn about the existence of gods and goddesses; having the monk added in that list as well was totally unnecessary.

"Hm… There are hardly enough clouds above for a thunderstorm and this looks too much of a coincidence," mulled the monk, as he observed the demolished house in front of him. "It must be a sign!"

"Huh?"

"Heavens must sent me this warning! I've sat here doing nothing for far too long and even after my temple had gotten in such a state, I was deaf to the signs!" said the monk in a moment of epiphany. "I, Koshian had failed my duties and to redeem myself and reach a higher level of enlightenment, I must embark on a spiritual journey! A pilgrim to the far reaches of the world where I can rediscover my true self and the actual meaning of spirituality!"

As the monk headed towards the remnants of his room to gather what few belongings he possessed and prepare for the said journey, Urd was struggling to come up with something to say. It was her fault after all and the half goddess wanted to somehow apologize, although she had no idea how to do that without revealing her nature to him. "Uh…"

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Keiichi shook his head as she turned to look at him. "Don't bother, Urd. It's not going to make anything better if you tell him anything and even if he believes you, things will become far worse when news about a goddess will spread throughout the world."

Staring at her roommate in complete silence, Urd had to admit that she found his recovery to be an almost miraculous one, as the mortal had regained his composure and nearly acted as if there wasn't anything wrong here. "Are you sure?"

"What can I say? I must admit that I'm at a loss of what to do myself and it certainly won't make matters better if the monk finds up about you being a goddess," said Keiichi with frown, as he tried to sound as calm as possible. "If others learn about you, it's just going to put you in a difficult position and cause all sorts of problems."

"I see. But… what about you?" It was probably the most important question here, and one that, Urd really worried that would end up in a sympathetic, yet obvious attempt for Keiichi to find a way out of his predicament. Most would definitely avoid to live with someone as dangerous as her, and even if she never used her powers in such a destructive way, it was now certain that normalcy was something he'd never experience around her. While she could be taken as a mischievous and even eccentric woman, Urd was finally sure that this wasn't actually the case and as a goddess, it was almost certain that more strange incidents would occur around her. Keiichi was actually a quiet and even shy individual and certainly not a thrill seeker, meaning that he was far less inclined by his nature to stick around to her, knowing that all the bizarre things happening as of late weren't just a temporary thing, but most likely the norm from now on.

"Me? I must admit that I'm kind of shocked, although… not as much as I should've been," admitted Keiichi with a thoughtful expression. "Even from the beginning you weren't the most… well… typical woman, I guess. No offense, of course! It's just very hard to compare you with others, that's all."

Smiling, as she visibly relaxed, the half goddess was pleased that her friend hadn't totally freaked out and was actually coping with this in a much better fashion than anyone would've expected of him. It was truly rare to find people like him and feeling that she needed to lighten up the mood a bit, as well as to reaffirm that despite her nature she was more or less the same person, Urd took a moment to look around and make sure that the monk was still busy and nowhere in sight. "I can't blame you, Keiichi… These puppies are solid, double Ds! So, it's not easy to find others to compare with me; not when it comes to natural ones. Wanna take another look? After all, you saw them once, right?"

" _No! They're perfect, but...I-I'm totally f-fine without seeing them again!_ " said Keiichi, turning red as the goddess opened her top a little bit. It was more than enough to make him recall the still fresh memory of her chest in all of its naked glory and as a result, the boy's face turned beet red once again. Actually he wasn't a complete prude, but that had been the first thing he saw such perfection in his otherwise short life. Many of the popular models and celebrities resorted to makeup and photo manipulation to hide the natural imperfections of their skin. No matter how attractive they happened to be, they weren't as perfect in real life as the magazines and other media made them look like. The same couldn't be said about Urd, though. While her skin appeared to be as real as it could get, there wasn't the slightest mark or feature that could've been described as a tiny blemish. 'Must be something with her being a goddess, right?'

"Aw… don't be so shy, Keiichi! At any rate, it's nice that you think I'm this attractive," said Urd with a wink. She was pleased of the mortal's reaction, as it implied that he was still considering her like a woman, instead of some divine being and all the rest of what humans came up with whenever deities were concerned; including some pretty crazy superstitions.

"Alright! I'm ready!"

Turning to the monk who stood in front of what used to be the residence's entrance, the two roommates approached him while he put his round hat and secured the large bag with all the needed supplies for the trip.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Urd with a bit of a frown.

"Yes. I think it was about time I did something useful, instead of sitting in one place and waste my life without any purpose. I have to regain the enthusiasm of my youth and learn what I refused to acknowledge for all these years," said the monk with a sad smile, as he took a few steps and then turned to look at his temple once again. "I wish that it wouldn't had taken such a calamity for me to come to such a realization. My poor house deserved better than that, although the main temple is thankfully fine. Perhaps someone will eventually fix this place and it's going to become back like it once used to be. In the meantime, I'll have to leave my temple at your hands…"

"Huh? Us? But..." started Keiichi, as he wasn't expecting that.

"Do not worry about anything. I'd rather leave it at someone who's capable to fixing it, instead of abandoning it like that. At any rate, I wish you luck with this project and with that… I'll bid you farewell!"

Staring at the departing monk as he descended the temple's stairs, Urd finally started to ponder what this all meant and soon a smile crept on her face. "Hey, Keiichi? Guess what happened just now!"

"Yes?..."

"We just got a house for free!" said the excited half goddess.

Looking at the pile of rubble behind them, the mortal couldn't help but shake his head, letting a tired sigh. "Uh… there's not much of a house left, Urd…"

"Have you already forgotten that we've got a god with us? Surely fixing it is going to be possible for him!" said Urd, grabbing Keiichi as she want to find Vali. "Come on! This is the break we were waiting for!"

"Okay, okay!... I'm coming!"

XXX

"I'm terribly sorry, my lord! I cannot express how much I regret my actions!"

Scratching his whiskers, the possessed cat tried not to laugh in front of his subordinate. He had actually seen what took place and from a certain perspective, he wasn't certain that this was a total disaster. In a way, letting Keiichi learn about Urd's nature earlier was better than allowing them to go further and _then_ have the mortal find out that she's a goddess.

"Are you sure about that? You may have solved their housing problem after all."

"But!..."

"And I'm willing to oversee the whole free show you've got in the process," added the Daitenkaicho, enjoying the shocked expression on his subordinate's face.

" _My lord?!..._ "

"Well, as someone had once told me… When life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade," said Tyr with an amused tone, even if he didn't go into any further details about the identity of that person. "Although, it's definitely not lemons we're talking about here. Urd would've been furious if I used something such small to describe what you saw."

Actually, it was fairly obvious to the cadet that the Daitenkaicho was probably referring to his former wife and ruler of Niflheim. However, the moment he remembered the fact that she happened to be the mother of the half goddess whose bra he had just bisected, Vali really hoped that she was as lenient as her former husband. If she took offense from that unfortunate accident, things could turn really bleak in his future.

"However, let's not lose sight of what's important here. Although this wasn't originally intended, I think it's better if you remain here with them and make sure that, Urd's doing fine. After all, now that she knows about her origins, I don't want you to suddenly disappear and make her think that she's been abandoned by the only celestial she knows so far," said Tyr in a far more serious voice. "Keep in mind, though, that it's still a bad idea to force more of her memories to resurface in such a manner. I don't want to risk the potential of her going out of control if she ends up getting overwhelmed by them and as such, I'd prefer if you didn't reveal who I am or mention anything about any of her other relatives for the time being; Belldandy included."

"Of course. I'll do as you say, my lord."

"Just a fair warning, though. I may not have any problems with your latest blunders, but, I won't be so lenient should this trend goes on. Am I understood, Vali?"

"Perfectly, my liege! I'll be considerably more careful from now on!"

"Good. Now I think that they're coming this way, so, I'll have to act like an ordinary cat," said Tyr, his ears darting at the approaching duo. "Meow!"

"Whiskers! I'm so glad you're fine, silly cat!" said Urd while picking up the smiling feline. "I was really worried! Come to mama!"

Struggling not to laugh at how ironic it was for the half goddess to call the possessed cat by that title, Vali tried to avert his gaze as he noticed that Urd's clothes were still damaged. Of course, that didn't come as a huge surprise as she most likely didn't know how to repair or replace them. "I trust that the monk had left?"

"That he did," replied Urd as she took the tabby cat on her arms. "Although, can you do something to fix this mess? You know… repair the house with magic before you leave?"

"Actually, I've received… orders to stay here. It's to make sure that you're not going to encounter problems while dealing with your powers. At least whatever you can use right now," said Vali, hoping that this was a sufficient explanation.

"Hm… as long as you actually help me, then I've got no serious problems," said Urd, before she narrowed her eyes at him. "However, no silly stunts like what you did back there. Got me?"

"Yes! That won't happen again!"

Nodding, Urd glanced over Keiichi, as she realized that it wasn't just her decision and waited for some kind of response.

"Uh… I think it's fine, then," said the uncertain mortal. In a way, he wasn't thrilled that they were going to have another guy with them, although he was sure that this thought came from a less rational part of his mind. In reality it was going to be extremely useful to have someone with some idea on how to handle Urd and assist her with her lost past. Still, as much as he didn't want to admit it, Vali wasn't someone unattractive and he couldn't help but wonder if Urd might eventually decide to flirt with him too. 'Huh? Wait a sec… Where did that came from? I-It's not like I dictate what she does and with who...'

"Excellent! In that case, welcome aboard, Vali!" Missing the troubled look on Keiichi's face, Urd turned to the blue haired god and smiled at him: "Feel free to get one of the available rooms; once we'll have a house that is. We still have that _little_ issue, you know."

"Ah, yes… Please stand back, both of you," said Vali, holding his hands in front of him. Waiting for them to take several steps away from the rubble, the cadet gathered his magic and began to reform the house. Piece by piece, the broken parts of the residence hovered back to their original position, while they also repaired themselves and seamlessly fit together with the rest.

It was almost as if they watched the explosion in reverse and at a much slower speed, as is time itself was going backwards. All except a little brunette goddess who tried to resist the spell and remain hidden in a nearby tree where she had ended up, before her sister or Keiichi managed to notice her.

Her concerns were mostly unfounded as both were too busy, with Urd trying to figure out how this actually worked or if she could recall doing anything similar, while Keiichi simply gawked at the impossible scene that unfolded before his eyes. Even if caused by magic, an explosion was something that the dark haired boy was kind of familiar with, having seen several on the TV. However, this was clearly beyond anything he considered as possible based on the very laws of physics; almost an act that went against the natural flow of time and entropy as it was known to humans.

"Wow…"

"Well, I think that this should be acceptable," said Vali, inspecting his handiwork for any obvious defects and much to his relief there were none. Restoration spells had been the one thing that his mother had problems with and Vali was happy that he wasn't plagued by the same issues. On the other hand, he wished he had her level of discipline and composure, but then again... nobody was perfect. "And just to avoid any further safety hazards, I've restored the entire area. The main building, as well as the surrounding grounds should be safe to approach, instead of their previously poor state."

"Great job! Everything looks like it's in pristine condition and perfectly clean!" said Urd as she and the amazed Keiichi took a few moments to survey their surroundings. "It almost feels like it's a totally different place!"

"It's the same temple, actually," corrected Vali. "Just in a _much_ better state."

"Hey! Since you're at it… Can you heal Keiichi's thumb?"

"Sure thing. Compared to this, something like that is really simple." Approaching the somewhat hesitant mortal, all it took Vali was a tap on Keiichi's sore thumb and the pain immediately subsided. "There you go. Just be more careful from now on."

"Huh? It's… not hurting anymore!" Removing the bandages, Keiichi was rather impressed to see that there were absolutely no signs of any injury.

"And that means that tomorrow we can go to downtown Nekomi and have some fun!" said Urd with a cheerful look. "We no longer need to find a house and we have a day off too!"

"But… shouldn't we call Chihiro and tell her that I'm no longer hurt?"

"And what exactly are you going to say? That a god used his powers to heal your hurt thumb?" Raising an eyebrow, Urd crossed her arms in front of her, enjoying the blank look on Keiichi's face, as he tried to come up with an answer.

"Okay… I'll have to admit that you've got a point."

"See? Besides, you need to learn how to relax, Keiichi. There's more to life than just work and we need a break after all that happened in the last few days. And it's not like we lied to Chihiro or something like that; things happened and we should make the best out of it," said Urd, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Oh, and by the way… I'd like you to come with us to Nekomi, Vali. I've got a little assignment for you."

"Really? What is it?" asked the curious god, tilting his head.

"Well… considering that stunt you pulled back there, it's fitting that you make up for it. And no, I don't wish you to fix my bra with magic. Instead, I want you to go and buy me a new one!" While she did sound pretty relaxed and cheerful, Urd's pointed look could be taken as an intimidating one; and unbeknownst to her, it actually reminded Vali of those images of Hild that he had seen during his training. Something that was more than enough to discourage him from flat out refusing.

"Uh… but… aren't those kind of shops meant for women?"

"Not really. You can just buy whatever you want, like anyone else. I won't argue that it's going to be embarrassing though and that's the whole point. To be fair, it's much better than getting bitch slapped and called names for that stunt," said Urd, tapping her foot on the ground. "I'm not going to make a huge deal, but, I want some kind of proper apology and for me, that's the best way."

'More likely a proper _punishment…_ ' Letting a sigh, Vali eventually had to offer her a nod, not wanting to look like an arrogant god who refused to accept his responsibilities and make up for his mistakes. A lot of them were like that, pretending that they were all nice and just, until they messed something up and then they'd go on a temper tantrum when they'd be asked to do something about it. "Very well, I'll do my best to find a proper replacement for the one I've ruined. However, in order to do that, I'll need your measurements."

"You're not supposed to ask a lady such a thing," said Urd, shaking her head. "You've already gotten a pretty nice glimpse, so, used that a reference. And in case it won't fit, you'll have to go pick something else until you get it right!"

Watching her walk towards the front door, eager to check the interior of the now restored house, both men made a mental note to not piss her off under any circumstances. While a pleasant and playful individual, Urd had a mean streak a mile wide whenever crossed and coupled with her ability to use thunders; a truly terrifying opponent.

'I need to make sure that I'll get it right. Perhaps I could ask her sister for help? She should know not only her measurements, but what she likes as well.'

Meanwhile, Keiichi had other things to consider as well; more specifically the entire concept of hanging around with Urd. While it was going to be a nice change of pace to finally do something other than looking for an apartment and just enjoy themselves, he suddenly realized that it also sounded awfully similar to a date.

'Oh boy… This is bad! I really have no idea what to do during a date! All those times we were so busy that I never paid too much attention at what we were doing. Okay, calm down Morisato and let's form a plan! I still have the rest of the day to think about it and come up with something nice. I have to! I sure don't want to end up buying her bras and who knows what else. Tomorrow I must do my best!'

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

I would also like to thank for ObeliskX for the initial suggestion for a reverse harem setting that led to this story.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

Actually, despite my original wish to keep this into a faster paced story, I had a lot of trouble to do that and still be happy with the result. More importantly, the introduction of Vali would've been a far more rushed one and in the end, it might've felt as something totally forced. I may mention about the whole "reverse harem setting," but I won't do it at all costs. Namely, I won't add a few gods into the story if I don't feel like I've introduced them in a decent manner.

As such, this might become a bit of a longer series, but I wish to implement this setting in a way that doesn't waste its potential, just to meet some set number of chapters. While it's going to be shorter than my other two current projects, I'll take my time to develop things and avoid rushing them.

This also concludes the entire part where the main characters have to find a place to live. I think that it's about time I fix that problem and let them move on with their lives instead of wasting more chapters with the same plot.

One interesting thought was to have them live elsewhere, as I wasn't trying to recreate any of the settings of the canon series. Still, putting them in the middle of Nekomi (or even a somewhat remote area) was going to pose a problem once Urd would start recalling bits of her past and use her powers. The temple is so far out of the city that it seemed like the ideal choice, without having to delete people's memory all the time.

Another note that I haven't mentioned in the story itself is that a license suspension doesn't actually mean that a celestial loses their powers. The punished person is simply prohibited from doing so and any violation of that rule would end in a worse punishment, like having their license revoked. Still, it must be noted that while Urd clearly did exactly that here, there should be an exception for her due to her situation. Having lost her memory means that some regulations will have to be overlooked in her case and a different approach is necessary, instead of blindly following the letter of the law.

Urd's lack of any overreaction at witnessing something out of the ordinary was not just my idea but also part of the manga, during that short arc where Urd and Skuld consider it normal for Welsper to talk at first.

Also it was those unusual experiences that made her remember a few things, although she's nowhere to the point where she remembers much about herself. The only notable exception was that memory of her mother which wasn't the byproduct of Vali's introduction.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

* * *

'Man… I really need some coffee… I couldn't get much sleep yesterday.'

For Keiichi, driving his beloved BMW was perhaps one of the most enjoyable things to do, especially outside of the city's busy streets where traffic and pedestrians demanded his full attention. The biggest benefit of his current arrangement was the beautiful mountain road he could drive through on a daily basis, something that would've irritated most others and made them complain about the long commute to work.

Even the added cost of the gas was going to get cut in half, since Urd had generously offered him to pay her share, given that she was also taking a ride on the sidecar, making it no more expensive than it would've been if they found an apartment much closer to Whirlwind.

Today was not an ordinary one though, and the goddess in question was sitting right behind him, as their other housemate was also coming with them. Sitting quietly on the sidecar, Vali was apparently in a much better state of mind than the mortal currently was and for a moment Keiichi felt tempted to ask him to drive, but quickly dismissed the thought. This was his _Beemer_ , as he affectionately called it and he wouldn't let anyone else drive it unless it was absolutely necessary.

There had been several things on his mind that kept the young mechanic up late thinking about them, only to end up with a big headache. After things had settled down, Keiichi couldn't help but wonder about his situation and what else was going on around him. He was living with not one, but two immortals; supernatural beings that defied logic and even several laws of physics, according to humans at least. Worse, he had nobody to confide to and let them hear this remarkable story and get some advice. Even trusted friends or his sister would simply think that he was losing his mind and providing them evidence could make Urd's life on Earth more difficult.

He had to admit that she was a pretty different kind of person compared to any other woman he met so far, yet there was nothing to prepare him for the fact that she was literally out of this world. In all honesty, he wasn't even sure what to do with her anymore, as that knowledge changed so many things that making long term decisions was very hard for the otherwise shy mortal. While he didn't want to admit it, Keiichi took Urd for granted even though they've only spent a few days together. He may had avoided to give in to her teasing, but in a strange way, he took comfort knowing that she was this forward with him; especially as it implied that she accepted him for who and what he was.

Most women he knew viewed him as a man with average looks, some boring hobbies and an almost empty wallet. None of them was terribly impressed at a first glance to get to know him better and discover his good points, and the fact that he spent so much time with his club activities back in college, denied him any chances to prove them wrong. The Motor Club was so notorious due to the shenanigans of its two directors, that most other students avoided its members at any cost, fearing that they'd get involved in a prank or any other crazy scheme devised by Tamiya and Otaki.

It was actually one of the reasons why his only attempt at a relationship ended up way too early, when his girlfriend tried to distance him from that club, citing the excessive amount of time and money he poured into it. From a certain perspective, she had been correct that he wasn't obligated to pay for all the failed plans to keep their projects funded. To make matters worse, his sempai were two large, gruff and intimidating dudes who were often mistaken for thugs, despite their silly but otherwise harmless nature. Still, it was easy for her to see them in a negative light and in the end, it was a choice between the club and her.

Urd on the other hand hadn't tried to set rules, although, she wasn't exactly his girlfriend either. Actually, she no longer was his roommate, as he wished to have a room for himself. Keiichi was perfectly clear that this had nothing to do with her nature, but simply his desire to respect her privacy. After all, their original plan was to have an apartment with two bedrooms for that very reason and now that they had the entire house for themselves, each could get a room; including Vali, who was supposed to stay with them for the foreseeable future.

Actually, the blue haired god had been a source of annoyance for Keiichi, much to his own embarrassment. Despite that blunder which resulted in a rather hilarious scene, Vali had been really polite and understanding, trying to avoid from getting in anyone's way and become a liability. He had also accepted to do his share of the housework instead of acting like a freeloader, by taking care of the temple grounds while Urd and Keiichi were at work.

Still, much to Keiichi's shame, he didn't exactly seem to be happy about having that god around and the only logical explanation was something that the mortal had never experienced so far; jealousy. He had always been a bit insecure about his appearance, thinking that he looked too plain and that was shorter than average, but once Urd started to flirt around him, Keiichi felt great relief that she deemed him attractive enough to do that. In a way he had indeed taken her for granted and the Vali's presence suddenly threatened all that. The bronze skinned goddess had a stronger, more attractive male close to her and the fact that he was another immortal was one thing that Keiichi could never beat.

Immediately, old insecurities resurfaced and he was reminded of the rather catastrophic attempt to ask out one of NIT's most popular girls, even if he should've known that he had no chance at all. Sayoko Mishima wasn't just attractive and popular, she was rich, too, and for people like her, Keiichi was far from boyfriend material. Even then, his enthusiasm and naivety at that point of time pushed him to try his luck and after she more or less walked away without a second glance, Keiichi's confidence had taken a serious hit.

And if a rich woman simply dismissed him like that, the chances for an all powerful and gorgeous goddess to consider him as one worthy of her love were slim to none. Sure, she did flirt with him, but that was partially because she didn't have her memories; and even right now, Urd was unable to remember much. However, once more of her past resurfaces, Keiichi wondered how long it would take her to see Vali or any other god as a much better alternative, compared to a feeble mortal who's not even desirable by the females of his own kind.

More importantly, he came to the conclusion that he actually wasn't as indifferent as he sounded at first. While he desperately tried to explain that they were only friends and nothing else was going on between the two of them, Keiichi finally realized that he was lying to himself and probably enjoyed how close to Urd he had gotten. He may had rejected her attempts to flirt with him, worrying that accepting them so soon after they met would've made him look like a letch who only wanted to score with her, but, at the back of his mind the idea of dating her was something that sounded like a possibility; even a thing he really wished to happen. Now, all that could simply become an empty fantasy, once the goddess became more familiar with her past and less interested in the mortal world and by extension, Keiichi himself.

Pointing a finger at Vali and blaming him for this would've been something so petty that the young mechanic simply refused to do. It was totally against his character to act like that, no matter how impulsive people became when matters of the heart were concerned; often making them do things that they would've otherwise condemn. If there was one thing that did actually characterize Keiichi was his strong will and as such, he wasn't going to give up and resign without putting up a fight. Not a literal one, as it was not just impossible for him to win something like that, but also, Urd wasn't a trophy to be handed to a victor, either. He merely wanted to do his best and make sure that she didn't stop seeing him as the person she liked to tease and instead, become just another human in her eyes.

'Great… I need to keep a goddess interested in me. Sure, no pressure! I couldn't even make a mortal woman to like me and now I need to do the same with Urd… way to go, Morisato, you're _way_ over your head with this one.'

As they approached the commercial center of the city, Keiichi tried to find a parking spot and turned to Vali. "Is this a nice place for you to start your search?"

"I believe so, Morisato-san. There are several stores around us and finding some undergarments will be relatively simple; I think," replied the blue haired god, looking around their surroundings.

"Very well. Oh, and you don't actually have to call me like that. Just Keiichi will suffice."

"If you say so, then I have no problems with that. In that case, I'll see you later." Getting off the sidecar, Vali offered Keiichi and the surprisingly quiet Urd a nod, before he headed towards one of the biggest department stores close to them.

"Okay, how about we also look for something to do as well, Urd?"

Looking at the somewhat nervous boy, the half goddess offered him a reassuring smile and tried to cheer up. She had a lot of things in her mind, but getting gloomy just wasn't her. Hoping that this was the perfect opportunity to relax and deal with her own problems, she got off the bike and wrapped her arm around Keiichi's, making the mortal blush.

"Sure thing, Keiichi! Let's find something fun to do!"

XXX

 _Yggdrasil Mainframe Center, Asgard_

"Good Heavens this is a mess!"

Rubbing her temples the dark haired goddess leaned back in her floating chair, struggling to block off the data in front of her holo screen for a moment. When they asked her to offer some assistance to figure out one of the biggest issues in the last couple of years, Peorth was more than happy to accept. While she personally saw herself as a wish granter, the brunette was far from a stranger when it came to internal matters. After all, she did work as a system administrator from time to time and she was even re-assigned there since the current one was unavailable.

"No kidding! I have no idea what's going on! Something is causing this mess and I cannot pinpoint which damn process is causing it!

"Language, young lady!"

"Whatever!"

Narrowing her eyes at the holoscreen in front of her, the much younger goddess let out a frustrated sigh as she dismissed the data and decided to start over; again. The problem was caused by a protector that should've never caused any issues to begin with. It was such a simple program that in theory the chances of starting something like that were one in a billion at most. Even then, protectors were designed to stop certain information from being communicated to others, and that should've normally affected Urd's speech, not an almost total lockdown of her memories.

"Have you requested the hard copies of her previous license suspensions?"

"Yes, Dagaz should've gotten them by now," replied the Norn of the future as she also leaned back to her chair, finding very little to do until she got her hand on that data. That allowed her to take a better look at the grinning goddess across the room, who decided to hover towards her, "What's so funny, Peorth?"

"Oh, look at you, Skuld! You're already someone else's boss!" said the smiling goddess, as she stopped in mid air in front of the younger goddess. "At this rate, you'll be in charge of Yggdrasil in no time!"

"Hmph! You make it sound as if it's something great, while it's just a menial and boring task to everyone else. Debugging is hardly a glorious task, you know," said Skuld, raising an eyebrow.

"You've totally missed my point, though… Very few goddess as young as you are have others working for them!" insisted Peorth. "Just the fact that you got an assistant is a great accomplishment! You should be proud of it!"

"Well, if you put it like that, then I guess so," said Skuld, struggling to decide whether she wanted to feel happy for being praised or get angry due to the whole matter of her age being brought into the discussion. If there was one thing she despised above all, was for others to treat her like a child, but in the end, Skuld chose not to antagonize the first class goddess. Peorth wasn't one to mess around with, since she did had a habit of holding grudges over silly things. Not that she was a bad goddess, it just was part of her strong sense of pride; something that also influenced her rather atypical attire.

Unlike most other celestials and even demons, Peorth was walking around wearing what most woudl've called as underwear or alternatively, swimwear; certainly not casual clothes. Technically speaking it wasn't anything illegal as it did provide enough coverage to avoid any attention from the higher ups. Still, the same couldn't be said about most gods and even several goddesses who more than often paused to take a look at the wish granter's curves, perfectly presented in her sensual clothing. Even more, the various rumors about her claims of providing the best service, made a few of them speculate just what was the nature of said services, given that she rarely elaborated further.

Some of those rumors had turned into titillating stories of promiscuity and what was unofficially classified as 'happy wishes' amongst certain circles, and the prospect of Peorth participating in such acts with her clients. Technically, the content and terms of the actual contracts were available to their agencies and carefully scrutinized for any signs of unwanted behavior, although, certain wishes were vague enough that left a lot to the imagination. For instance, a human asking a wish granter to go on a date with them was a seemingly sweet thing, yet what took place during that event was a whole different story.

Still, as much as Peorth denied to disclose too many details about her contracts on grounds that she found those insinuations as totally offensive, the goddess had actually admitted that she had dated mortals on a few rare occasions, making her a hot topic of discussion. And while that earned her some baleful criticism from several celestials, Peorth remained undaunted, claiming that she wasn't going to change who she was just to fit certain stereotypes.

Of course, the goddess' obstinacy might've caused more problems and embarrassing moments to herself than those who criticized her, with gods falling off walkways while staring at her, or other silly accidents caused by her being a source of distraction.

Such was also the case of Dagaz who had just returned from the Archives, carrying a stack of folders containing all the details about Urd's past license suspensions. Actually, it wasn't the digital copy that caused the blonde god some trouble, but the physical hard-copy that made it hard to look right in front of him. For the past several months, the third class god had acted as Skuld's assistant, a job he initially was very excited about, although that was due to a misunderstanding; one he was far too embarrassed to admit.

Many decades ago, Dagaz had accidentally met the Norn of the past and almost instantly he was smitten by the gorgeous goddess and her playful attitude. Unfortunately, all hopes of asking her out were dashed by an insufferable Earth Spirit who tried to curse him for trying to even talk to her. What made such a lovely goddess tolerate that jerk of a boyfriend was beyond him, yet after she saved his skin, Dagaz was far too embarrassed to try again. Even a while later, after he learned that the moron had left her, the blonde god was too intimidated to try and approach her again; fearing that he would've appeared like some sort of a stalker. Instead, he opted to get closer to her through work and applied to become a sysop, hoping to become one of her direct subordinates.

So, when he learned that one of the Norns needed an assistant, he immediately rushed to fill in the application form. However in his excitement he hadn't fully read all the details and most importantly, _which_ one of the Norns required some extra help. As a result, he was devastated when he found out that his new boss wasn't the buxom half goddess he so wished to impress, but her youngest sister and Norn of the future, Skuld. To make matters even worse, he was far too embarrassed to admit that it was a mistake and recall his application, especially when he found out that he was the _only_ celestial who applied for that position. Despite how disappointed he was, Dagaz didn't want to make the young goddess feel the same from having no one willing to work for her as a debugger. True, few would like to have a boss so much younger than them and the ones closer to her age were typically restricted to some less important jobs, so, they couldn't really apply anyway.

At the very least, he hoped that the little goddess would say a few kind words about him to her eldest sister and in the long run it would be something good for him. Besides, in a strange way, it was an assignment that could allow him to show some of his skills even at a professional level, since his previous job as a librarian offered few chances to prove his worth; not with everything being almost automated. Sure, fetching things for Skuld wasn't the most prestigious of things one could do, especially when it came to ice-cream, but, there were also moments when he found a bug somewhere and received some credit for that.

'If this goes on like this, I might actually get a promotion and even a second class licence!'

Stopping in front of the Norn's hovering chair, Dagaz turned sideways, so that he could see past his stack of folders and nearly fell back when he got a glimpse of Peorth. Hovering in an accidentally provoking manner, as she leaned forward to have some chit chat with Skuld, the goddess of the roses was blissfully unaware of the god's approach and the view she giving him. From such an angle and proximity to her, Dagaz could see more that he was mentally prepared for, yet he remained silent and as soon as he realized that the two goddesses were too absorbed in some topic about what was known as manga in the mortal realm, the blonde god hesitated to announce himself.

'Oh, boy… look at that booty! I've seen her numerous times, but never like _this!_ If only I was her assistant!'

Swallowing hard, the god was contemplating what to do in a situation like this and eventually decided that averting his gaze, before he interrupted them was the best choice. Actually he thought that turning in a way that the stack of folders obscured Peorth would eliminate any suspicions of ogling her; not that he didn't but, avoiding getting caught was critical. Yet in a moment of weakness, a particularly devious thought formed in his mind and hesitated to do what he initially had in mind. This was such a rare opportunity for him to get in a situation like this that he couldn't resist to take a photo of such a marvelous sight. It was a risky move, but the god was confident that the discussion about the plot of a manga Skuld had recently received from Belldandy who was currently at the human realm would keep them occupied for just a few more seconds.

That was all he needed to balance the stack in one hand and summon his communicator on the other, trying to get the best angle and light conditions for a photo. As he took a snapshot, Dagaz was relieved that he had set the thing to being quiet whenever he operated its camera and as such he was undetected by either of them.

'Awesome! This is the best photo I've ever taken! And it's not like I did something wrong… She was just standing there and…'

With neither of them noticing him, the blonde god was tempted to go for another one, and this time from a closer distance; despite the added risk to an already dangerous situation. With a blush forming on his face, the god could feel the mental tug of war between his conscience and a less noble part of his mind. After all, this kind of perverted behavior wasn't something expected of a god and eventually he decided against going any further; but it was far too late. In all irony, while he focused on this not so noble task, Dagaz failed to notice someone else approach him until a hand reached and grabbed his shoulder.

Letting out a rather undignified shriek that rattled the two goddess who immediately turned to see what was going on, Dagaz had inadvertently sent both his communicator and the folders in the air. As everything ended up all over the floor, the god knew that it was far too late to make any excuses and besides the one who caught him had most certainly a perfect idea of what he was doing. Worse, the white glove on his shoulder was a design used normally by the Fighting Wings and as he looked back, Dagaz's fears were confirmed when a rather stoic Valkyrie returned his gaze.

"It's rather impolite to take photos of a goddess' posterior without her permission, don't you think?"

There was no sign of anger or sarcasm in her voice, making him feel even worse about his actions, although at the same time such was to be expected of this particular Valkyrie. Lind, also known as the ' _twin wings angel_ ' was far from the average war goddess and quite possibly the worst person to catch Dagaz doing such a thing.

" _P-Please… don't kill me! I'm terribly sorry! I really am!_ "

"Who said I'll do such a thing?" Shaking her head, while the other two goddesses watched in confusion, Lind momentarily released his shoulder and instead she grasped the back of his neck, dragging the miserable god towards the exit.

" _No! I don't want to get sealed! Please! I may be a pervert but not a criminal!_ " pleaded the god with tears welling in his eyes.

"That's quite the statement, although, I won't seal you. And before I forgot…" turning to Peorth who had taken the liberty to check the god's discarded communicator with Skuld trying to look over her shoulder, Lind decided to remind her of one particular conversation they had quite a while ago. "See what happens when you wear such a revealing outfit? I bet that this merely one of the many gods who take photos of your six."

"My what?"

"Your six o'clock."

"Meaning?"

"Your bum," offered Skuld as she happened to be more familiar with such terminology.

"Oh, that makes sen-..." started the goddess of the roses, before she abruptly stopped and narrowed her eyes at the Valkyrie. "Thank you for the concern, but, I'm doing pretty fine! Actually, here, Dagaz! You can keep the photo!"

Walking up to the trembling god, Peorth offered him his communicator back with a big smile on her face. "Oh, and next time you don't have to be so sneaky!"

"N-Next time?..."

"Of course! If you get a nice camera, I'd love to model for you!" said the grinning goddess, as she made a pose. "I'll even wear something sexy, too!"

" _Sexy?!_ "

While the baffled blonde celestial was struggling to imagine what could've counted as sexy to her, his Valkyrie captor was far less impressed. "Are you doing that just to antagonize me?"

"Who, me?" asked the goddess with a melodramatic expression on her face.

"Very well. I'll take my leave then."

"Wait, what did you need in the first place?" asked Skuld, as the Valkyrie was about to resume dragging Dagaz towards the exit.

"Oh, I was looking for a volunteer for an assignment. I think I got one, so, I'll take my leave."

Moments after the door closed, the two remaining goddess shared a look, wondering just what the blue haired warrior had meant with that.

XXX

 _Nekomi, Japan_

Urd was finally in a much better mood as she and Keiichi shared a nice, hot cup of coffee. Alcohol was more up her alley, but she had to agree that since her house mate was driving, it was for the best to try something different and the young mechanic also needed the caffeine to wake him up, too.

"Mm… this is a nice blend! Perhaps we should come here more often."

"I think so. Although, I'm not the best person to judge coffee," said Keiichi as he took a sip. "Most of the time, I'm just drinking something I can find on a vending machine, which is much lower quality, anyway."

"You can always try something different, Keiichi. And speaking of that, how about we do the same today?" offered Urd, making her friend raise an eyebrow.

"Oh? Like what?"

"Hm… How about visiting the arcades?" asked Urd, pointing at the other end of the street.

"Oh course! I can show you some of my skills," said Keiichi, unaware that he was talking to someone who had a fearsome reputation as a gamer, even in Asgard.

"Then let's go!" Taking him by the arm as he barely had the time to pay the bill, Urd felt much better now that she had something to do, other than think about her past and what it all meant for her current life on the mortal realm.

"Slow down a bit, Urd!" said Keiichi as he struggled to keep up with the much more energetic goddess, although he was happy that she apparently felt a bit better now. Being gloomy just seemed wrong for the playful goddess, and Keiichi had to admit that she looked much more attractive with a smile on her face. As a matter of fact, he was so absorbed by her that he failed to notice that she had stopped and ended up bumping at her. "Is there something wrong?"

"Hey, there's an ambulance over there." Pointing across the street from them, a woman in a wedding dress was carried away on a stretcher.

"I wonder if there was an accident, or something." Approaching the scene out of sheer curiosity Keiichi's face lit up in recognition as got a better view of the woman's face. "Wait! That's Sayoko!"

"You know her?"

"It was hard not to. She was NIT's most popular student, and the fact that she's really rich made matters even better for her. There were countless of boys trying to grab her attention on a daily basis, hoping that she would notice them," explained Keiichi.

"So, in other words... a little princess." Tapping her chin, Urd had to give the woman some credit for being attractive enough, although her fortune was most certainly the biggest reason the rest of the students went after her.

"In a manner of speaking. She sure acted like a diva and enjoyed all the attention she got from others," said Keiichi with a shrug, before he added in a lower voice. "Not that she dated anyone for real. A few times she'd take a guy out for a dinner or at some classy bar, but… nothing beyond that. Still, that didn't dissuade others from trying, though."

"Including yourself?" asked Urd with a sly grin, as she offered the boy a sideways glance.

"Okay… I'll admit that at some point early on, I did try to ask her out, but…" started the dark haired mechanic, as he recalled a not so dignified moment of his life. "It was a total disaster, to be honest with you. I wore a rather tacky green suit and asked her to go on a museum with me."

"Really? That's an odd place for a date, wouldn't you think?" said Urd with a raised eyebrow. "Still, not the worst attempt. I mean… it wasn't a love hotel or dingy bar…"

"Uh… if you put it that way… I guess you're right," said Keiichi, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Although, I wonder what happened here? I doubt that she's actually gotten married. Given her personality, she would've made it a bit of local event."

"Hm… let's go and ask then," said the half goddess, pointing at the photographer's shop the rich woman was taken out from.

"Sure thing, Urd." Walking up to the young lady who was most likely the shop's assistant, Keiichi decided to try and see what he could find out about this strange situation. "Excuse me miss, but… what happened here?"

"Oh, it's terrible! One of our models felt ill and she had to be taken to the hospital for a good measure." Letting a sigh, the assistant turned towards the dark haired mechanic and his goddess friend, before it was her turn to get curious. "Do you know her, mister?"

"Um… yes, we went to NIT together. I just hope that that it's not something serious," said Keiichi, not too comfortable with the intense gaze he was receiving.

"The paramedics said that it was merely a case of food poisoning, so I doubt that it's something life threatening. Although, we're really in need for a replacement for our newest photo-shoot and we've got no one to contact right now." Studying them, and more importantly the bronze skinned beauty standing next to Keiichi the assistant's eyes lit up, realizing that she had an excellent opportunity to come up with some replacements. "If you don't mind me asking… Would you like to take her place? It's too late to find anyone else, and the magazine really needs those photos for their wedding collection."

" _Eh?! W-Wedding?!..._ "

"That explains her getup," said Urd, who unlike Keiichi was in a far better state to offer a proper response. "I assume that we're getting paid for this?"

"Of course! And it's not going to take too long either!" said the elated assistant, as she found a replacement this soon. "At most, it'll be half an hour and then you're free to go. What do you say?"

"Sure thing!" Not waiting for the stunned Keiichi who was still having some issues with the theme, Urd tugged him along trying to get him inside the shop before he had the chance to run away. "Come on, Keiichi! It's going to be fun!"

"But…"

"Stop being so difficult and let's give it a try at least."

"Fine… Let's do it…"

XXX

Meanwhile, several blocks away a god was making his first steps in a totally unknown territory, looking around as he entered the shop's undergarment section. While the rest of the floor he was currently in had a few other men wandering around to help their wives or girlfriends pick some clothes, almost none of them followed them into this particular section. He could actually notice a few odd looks he got as he walked around, trying to find something fitting for Urd after he got her exact measurements from her sister.

While Belldandy volunteered to do this for him, sparing the war god cadet from the embarrassment of his current predicament, Vali was adamant that this was his responsibility and as such, he had to do it all by himself. A decision that he came to regret, of course, although he wasn't willing to admit that to anyone, if not to spare whatever was left of his dignity.

Even with the necessary information at hand, he was unprepared for just how many possible options he could choose from. Not only they came in all kinds of shapes and colors, but there was a distinctive difference at how much skin some covered; with several being rather modest, to the far more extreme cases that were so flimsy that the god wondered what was the purpose of wearing something that hid practically nothing at all.

Worse, Belldandy's advice was somewhat contradictory and provided little insight as to what her sister liked to wear. ' _Don't pick something that's too plain, yet stray away from things that are way too extreme, or Urd will think that you consider her being totally shameless._ '

Scratching his head, Vali was having some serious trouble to determine just what the goddess of the past liked to wear and where she drew the line in terms of how revealing her lingerie were. He did study her profile quite meticulously, but for more than obvious reasons, no such information could be found there; nor he tried to acquire it from her sister. It was already bad that he gotten himself such trouble, so, the last thing he needed was for the brunette goddess to think that he was probably _too happy_ with his current assignment; using it as an excuse to acquire some spicy information or even photos of her elder sibling.

"Excuse me… May I help you?"

The sudden voice from behind him, almost made the cadet jump and shake his head not only to snap out of it, but also in shame as he wasn't paying the necessary attention to his surroundings, a habit that was becoming a problem for him. "I'm fine, really."

Smiling, the shop assistant offered him a nod to acknowledge what he said, but insisted on helping him. "If you're unsure about what you looking for, then why not try to get a general idea of what's the best style for the young lady you have in mind? Could you describe her appearance and personality?"

"Um… well she…" Making a few failed attempts to describe her, the god suddenly realized that he did have a photo from her profile and reached into his pockets to show what Urd looked like to the assistant. "Here, I've got a photo of her."

"Mm… That's a pretty attractive young lady! You must be really lucky to have such a girlfriend!"

"She… I mean… Thank you miss." Reasoning that it was probably going to make things easier if he let her think that he was looking for some lingerie for his girlfriend, Vali opted to avoid correcting her mistaken assumption and decided to just get it over with.

"Oh, you're most welcome, sir! Now, is there anything about her personality that I might find useful? For example? Is she a daring person or a more reserved one?"

"I wouldn't describe her as a reserved one for sure," said the blue haired god, missing the dirty look he received for a moment, while he was too busy trying to summarize the half goddess' personality. "She's kind of outgoing and lively, I suppose. In a way you can say that she's like a cat."

"A cat?" repeated the woman as she turned to the side and motioned for him to follow. "I've got the perfect thing for you, then! This way please!"

Nodding, the god glanced at the increasingly daring designs he passed by and in more moments, he was standing in front of a mannequin that was wearing something that would've better been described as a series of horizontal pieces of fabric with a mesh in between. "I think that this is a bit too daring…"

"Oh? Than how about this leather one? Also if you're looking for something more classic, we have this lovely purple one. I think it matches her eye color, right?"

"Actually… I agree," said Vali as he scratched his chin while studying the lacy, purple set that was on a mannequin not far from him. "I think that's more like her, to be honest with you. Does it come with everything else that's on the display?"

"Of course! The garter belt and stockings are part of the whole set. So, are you buying that?"

"Yes, I believe that this is the best option."

"Excellent! There you go, and thank you very much for choosing our store!" for your purchase said the assistant as she handed him a packaged set of the same lingerie and then retrieved a coupon for him. "Oh, and before I forgot! There's a special offer with this particular design you've picked and I think that your girlfriend will enjoy the extra gift. You can exchange this in the local marketplace, tree blocks away from here."

"Um… thank you miss…" said the baffled god as he headed to pay for his purchase.

However, as he walked further away from her, a smile formed on her lips and a six pointed star flashed on her forehead.

'Hm… not bad. I guess he's not totally hopeless like I've originally thought so. That's good... At least she's not surrounded by morons like the ones she typically tries to date. Mm… I think that it's getting really interesting.'

As the god finally left the shop, the young assistant looked around in confusion wondering what happened and how she got across the shop, but eventually decided to ignore it and go back to her work.

XXX

Fiddling with the white suit he was wearing, the mortal could feel his legs shaking slightly as his nervousness threatened to turn into sheer panic. Somehow he ended up in a situation where he and Urd were going to model as newlyweds and while it was merely an act, Keiichi couldn't stop his mind from toying with the idea.

'Stop thinking about it, you idiot! It's just a few photos for a magazine, not the real deal! I can do it!'

"Hey, check it out, Keiichi! Don't I look sexy in this?"

Posing in the strapless wedding gown that was provided to her, Urd couldn't help but act like a kid who just got a new toy. Being a bit more revealing and flashier than what one might've called as a typical design, it provided the mortal man a sight that was far too alluring to ignore. Yet, given the nature of the gown, the overall effect was much stronger than any other outfit that the goddess actually possessed, leaving her house mate stare at her in amazement.

' _I can't do it!_ ' Panicking even more, Keiichi almost thought he was going to join Sayoko in the hospital, as he felt his heart rate increase to the point that was clearly not healthy for him.

" _That_ good, huh?" said Urd as she enjoyed the deep blush on his face. "I kind of like the design, to be honest. It's both elegant and doesn't make me look like a princess from some long forgotten era. Oh… and given its appearance, the wedding night is most certainly going to be a great success for sure!"

Nearly choking at the mental image caused by the goddess' words, Keiichi was desperately trying to find a way to change the topic, although a part of him sure didn't mind keep staring at her. "Uh… shouldn't we hurry up? I bet that the photographer might start worrying that we're getting late…"

"Okay, fine…" Letting a sigh, Urd knew that he was struggling to get out of his predicament, and in all honesty she didn't blame him. Despite being an act, the goddess also had to admit that she would've been less nervous to pose in a totally scandalous outfit than a wedding dress; especially with Keiichi next to her. Just the thoughts that popped up in her mind while doing this was more than enough to make even her feel bashful, although Urd could definitely hide it way better than her housemate did.

"Oh! I must say that you two look absolutely perfect!" Smiling brightly at them, the assistant was making the final checks on the lighting, while the photographer ensured that his camera was ready.

"Thanks! I thought the same too!" replied Urd, taking a seat on the chair, while a nervous Keiichi stood next to the bronze skinned goddess.

"Could you please try to take a few deep breaths, young man?" asked the photographer as he looked up from the camera. "You look terribly tense. Just relax your shoulders and act as if everything's okay. Don't think too much about the photo-shoot."

"Okay, I'll try," said Keiichi, even if he knew that this was hardly the actual reason behind his nervousness.

Once satisfied with the way they looked, the photographer began to take several snapshots and while it only lasted several seconds, for Keiichi that seemed as if it was entire hours. The young mechanic couldn't help but steal a few glances over at Urd and given how calm she appeared to be, it was natural for him to wonder if he was worrying over nothing. While she did say a few things in the past that indicated some interest on her part, or at least not a downright rejection; the revelation of her true nature left him wondering if she still thought the same about him. 'She doesn't seem to mind being friendly around me, but… as a potential boyfriend? Would a goddess even consider a guy like me as dating material? Come to think of it… do I really like her?'

In all honesty, Keiichi had his own reservations as well. Urd was a really nice woman and not just physically, but as far as her personality was concerned too. Sure, for such a beautiful woman she wasn't aloof or too arrogant, looking down at him for not being handsome enough or being a poor person. And given his not so great experience with dating, Keiichi worried that it was possible that her positive attitude towards him was more than enough to raise his hopes and wish to get close to her regardless of whether they were truly compatible or not.

Urd did appear to be an unlikely choice for a girlfriend at a first glance, with the goddess being way too bold for such a shy person like him. Even more, while he hesitated to ask her anything that personal, he suspected that it was unlikely for her to be totally inexperienced when it came to lovemaking and that was a thing that made him really insecure; not knowing how she might react dealing with a person as shy as him. If he was this nervous just standing next to her while she wore a wedding dress, Keiichi didn't really want to imagine how worse things could get for him if she invited him to her bed.

However, the most nerve racking thing was the uncertainty that had to do with her amnesia and the whole license suspension. There was a constant fear that he only saw part of her personality and perhaps once she fully recovered her memory, she might come to her senses and realize that a mere human wasn't fitting for her. Furthermore, if her license was to be restored, there were no guarantees that she would chose to stay on Earth for longer, or even _allowed_ to, since Heavens apparently had some kind of bureaucracy.

The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that there were so many ways for him to get burnt by trying to get together with her, than attempting to date a random stranger. And given his past failures, Keiichi's confidence when it came to women was fairly low; a total contrast compared to his mechanical skills.

Yet despite all that, the dark haired student felt that he shouldn't give up without putting up a fight first. He deserved a chance to prove himself to the goddess and avoid being simply dismissed as a boring motorhead with average looks and a nearly empty wallet most of the time. The only issue was _how_ to do that, given Urd's nature as a goddess. Even if he was relatively inexperienced with women, Keiichi did know a few things that could make an average girl happy, however, an immortal on the other hand was totally different situation.

'Sure becoming her friend is a nice start and everything, but how I could get her to notice me as a man? I'm not the most handsome guy around and I'm not even sure if buying her stuff would impress a goddess. Besides, I can't say that I like that idea as it sounds like bribery, and let's not think how difficult it's going to be for someone as poor as me. I'd honestly love to ask for advice, but… relationships aren't Chihiro's strongest point and could make things awkward if she starts trying to get us together while we're at work. And I doubt that asking Megumi would provide any useful insight on how girls think. She's most likely going to end up teasing me, like she always does…'

"Excuse me, young man..."

"Huh? Yes?" shaking his head, Keiichi realized that he had spaced out during the photo-shoot.

"I said that we're almost done," said the photographer with a smile as he checked his camera. "I've got most of the shots I'll probably need for the magazine."

"Oh, that's great! Are we free to go then?" asked Keiichi, eager to get out of the somewhat awkward situation he had gotten into.

"Well, almost. I still need a photo with the kiss," said the photographer, much to the dark haired mechanic's shock. "Can you do it?"

"Uh… I… we…" Stammering as he struggled to come up with a proper response, Keiichi turned to Urd who seemed less affected than him, and actually thinking about it.

"You can only pretend you're about to kiss, if that's a problem," explained the photographer, noticing how quiet both of them had become. "Just get close enough and I'll take the photo at that moment."

"Actually, let's go for the real thing, Keiichi." Giving her house mate a look, Urd decided to take the first step and get something out of this situation, instead of wasting it with a mere act. Sure, it wasn't the ideal setting, but, she had stalled things quite a bit with her own indecisiveness and a part of her worried that missing way too many opportunities was a luxury she couldn't afford.

" _Eh?!_ " Feeling a blush form on his face, Keiichi wasn't sure as to how to actually respond to that suggestion. On one hand, it was a fairly innocent thing, but then again it was a giant step forward for the shy mechanic. "Y-You m-mean a k-kiss?"

"Of course! What else?" said Urd with a roll of her eyes, although she did try to sound more amused by his reaction than sarcastic. "Come on, don't be this shy! It's going to be nice, I promise!"

'Should I go for it? It feels kinda easy and not particularly special, but… as far as I can tell, this could be the only chance I'm going to have. If I say no right now, I might end up regretting it for my whole life.' Calming down his nerves, Keiichi offered the bronze skinned goddess a reluctant nod, which actually surprised her in a rather pleasant manner; her eyes lighting up a bit. "Okay, Urd. I guess we can give it a try and see what happens."

"Awesome! And since you're a beginner, I'll go easy on you," said the goddess with a playful wink. "I won't use the tongue this time, but I won't make any promises for the _next_ one…"

" _Tongue?_ " Turning red from the mental image of such a passionate kiss, Keiichi's legs started to feel a bit wobbly. Even more, the mention of getting more in the future was something that both excited and terrified the young mortal. It was more than reassuring that she wanted to get closer to him, although the possibility of getting intimate this soon brought back all those insecurities about the goddess' expectations. 'W-What if I mess it up and she thinks I'm an idiot? I mean, it's such a simple thing that everyone should be able to do and if I fail, then… No! I really need to stop thinking like that! I've got to do it!'

"It was a joke, Keiichi. But let's leave such things for later and get it over with, shall we?" said Urd glancing at the photographer who was patiently waiting for them to make a decision. "Don't worry, I won't laugh if you do something silly. Just take a deep breath and lean towards me, Keiichi ; I'll handle the rest."

Following her advice, the young mechanic placed his hands on her bare shoulders and leaned closer; his heartbeat steadily increasing until he couldn't take it anymore and shut his eyes closed to avoid getting overwhelmed. And while it did actually provide him some relief, the sensation of Urd's lips pressing against his was more than enough to make him feel as if he was struck by lightning.

True to her word, the goddess hadn't gone too far with her kiss, although it sure wasn't a fake or clumsy one either. Urd clearly knew what she was doing and for the few long moments that it lasted, Keiichi's mind was on the verge of a meltdown. He had actually done that, back when he still had a girlfriend, yet the sensation of the goddess' lips was on a totally different level that surpassed even his wildest dreams.

"Thank you very much, that was an excellent job!"

Snapping out of it, Keiichi tried to remain calm and not pass out in a most spectacular manner in front of Urd and the photographer. He had no delusions that the silly grin on his face was absolutely ridiculous, but for once, the young mechanic didn't care and simply decided to enjoy the moment and stop worrying about everything; at least, not right now.

A few minutes later, he and Urd were back in their original attires and waited for the photographer to show them the pictures he took and much to their own surprise they did look great. They've been wondering how those would turn out, given that everything happened without any warning and neither expected to find themselves in such a situation to begin with.

"Hey, we actually look nice, Keiichi!" said the half goddess, holding one of the photos closer.

"Yeah, I wish I wasn't this stiff but other than that, I'll have to agree," said Keiichi with a nod.

"Well, you can keep a copy each, on top of your payment," said the photographer, handing them a few photos along with a small envelope with the money he promised them for the photo-shot.

Offering their thanks, the two housemates walked out of the shop but not before Urd checked their earnings and let a low whistle. "Hey!... That's not half bad, actually! Maybe we should become models!"

"I don't think he's going to hire us for more, Urd. This was kind of an emergency, not something that's going to happen every time from now on."

"Aw… It would've been nice to get paid for looking pretty," said Urd with a wink before she added. "And kissing each other, too."

Nearly choking on his own saliva, Keiichi knew that the goddess was teasing him, but at the same time, he did have some proof that she wasn't just for show. Unlike past comments, where he wondered whether she was truly serious or simply said things to get a reaction from him, Urd had actually kissed him for _real_ ; which was more than the requirements for the photo-shoot. "I… Well…"

"Calm down, I'm joking! It's not likely to get a permanent job like that, but, we can try to find what to do with this money," said Urd waiving the envelope for him to see. "How about some tools for you?"

"But… what about _your_ share? We both got paid for the photos…"

"Yes, although I don't think I've got something I need right now," said Urd with a shrug. "You, on the other hand need some powered tools to help you during work."

"Well, that could be nice, especially to finish some things a bit sooner and with less effort. Still… I don't think that it's fair to…"

"No arguments! Let's go and get you a few things!"

"Okay, Urd… If you insist then I won't complain."

"Excellent!"

XXX

"Excuse me, sir! Would you like to buy a lottery ticket?"

Pausing for a moment, Vali turned to the man behind the nearby bench who was holding off some kind of competition. He had just visited the local marketplace to exchange the coupon he had gotten and after picking up a nice bottle of sake, and was heading back towards the spot where the others had dropped him off; until the unknown man interrupted him.

"What does that entail?"

"Oh, it's really simple! We've got a promotion for people to buy things from our marketplace, so, if you got something, you can also buy a ticket at a small fee. It's just 100 Yen! I'm talking about a real bargain!" said the man, slamming a paper fan on the bench, as he tried to attract others' attention, too. "The grand prize is a trip for four people to a local hot springs! You can bring your girlfriend and another couple with you!"

"I don't have one," said Vali with a small frown.

"In that case… you can take more friends with you!" tried the salesman, hoping that he wasn't dealing with a loner; as he didn't have the time to think of a better way to entice him. After all, most of the customers were housewives and it was very simple to use that line for them.

"I... think I can do that."

"Excellent! Would you like to buy one then?"

Thinking about it, the war god cadet reasoned that the price for the ticket was so low that buying one wasn't a problem and without hesitation, he offered the man a 100 Yen coin, getting a ticket in exchange.

"Thank you very much, sir! I hope you're the lucky winner!"

"I hope so, too."

Walking away from the stall, Vali headed back towards his original destination, missing a tiny floating demoness who poked her head from behind the stall.

'Heh… this is so simple that I'm kind of bored… Oh well, I think that's going to make Urd-chan feel a bit better! And what a scam! Keeping the winning ticket hidden in his back pocket! Let's see how he's going to like that high quality smoked slice of bacon!'

Mere minutes later, the marketplace's customers turned to see a panicked man running as if his life depended on it, with an excited crowd of dogs all happily chasing him across the street.

" _Help!_ "

'Ha! That should teach him a lesson! Okay, I think I can go back, but first…'

XXX

Rolling around in his basket, the possessed cat did exactly the same thing that every other feline was well known for; napping. Tyr had to admit that using a lower level life form wasn't the most perfect of ideas, given the restrictions imposed by his host's nature, but on the other hand it was the best way to keep an eye out for his daughter. Actually, he never even planned for this to begin with, but once he got himself involved, Tyr felt that he owned Urd this much and tried to make sure that she was doing fine.

Content that everything was under control, the possessed cat was taking his morning nap, enjoying the soft covers of his basket or even the sensation of someone pulling his tail. And while the former was to be expected given how soft and fuzzy the blanket Urd had given him was; the latter wasn't.

'Huh? What? Who?'

Looking around as the sleepy cat tried to figure out what was going on, Tyr found absolutely nothing and considering that he was not fully awake, he simply dismissed it as part of his imagination or even a dream and tried to go back to sleep. However, as soon as he closed his eyes, the same sensation returned and this time, the possessed cat flicked his tail, only to feel something attached to it.

"Okay what's going on here?..."

"Hi, Tyr! Long time no see!" said the tiny form of the Daimakaicho, who was hanging from his tail like a decoration. "Still the heavy sleeper, huh? I had to pull your freaking tail to wake you up, you sleepyhead! Sheesh!..."

" _H-H-HILD?!_ " Jumping up from his basket, the panicked cat nearly ran around in circles, with the baffled demoness hanging from his tail. " _This is bad! This is bad!… This is…_ "

"Stop panicking, you silly!" shouted Hild as she tried to calm the feline down. "This isn't your real body! So, calm down!"

"Oh, that's right!" Coming to a screeching halt that sent the demoness in a collision course with the back of his head, Tyr had to take a moment to rub the sore spot, while Hild got the chance to float in front of his face.

"That's right, indeed! Now would you…" started the demoness before she abruptly stopped and let a squeal, earning a strange look from the cat. "Aw!... you're _adorable!_ Look at those whiskers!"

"That's my _name_ , actually…"

"And that flabby tubby!"

"Hey, I'm not fat!"

"Oh, really? And what's that, pray tell me?" said Hild, poking his belly. "It looks like you're already a nice, chubby cat! Seriously, Tyr! These animals need to exercise and what exactly are you doing aside from spying on them?"

"Uh… I…"

"You're watching TV all day while they're not home and stuff yourself with instant noodles?"

"Sort of… Kind of…"

"By the time you're gonna leave this cat alone, the poor thing will have diabetes! Not to mention that it's going to look like a furry pillow!"

"Your concern is duly noted. Now, please tell me that you're not here to simply make fun of my current… host."

"Of course not! I… think I want to keep you!" squealed Hild as she tightly hugged the cat. "My flabby, tabby kitty!"

'She's not taking anything seriously… Well… not that she ever did' Patting her tiny head with a paw, Tyr couldn't help but smile a bit as despite the whole silliness, it was nice to see Hild even under these circumstances. "You haven't changed at all, Hild. Still the troublemaker, I see."

"You too. Still the couch potato you've always been. Sheesh, I've ended up getting pregnant while trying to make you work out a bit."

"Couch… What are you talking about? I was a war god, you know! And I'm perfectly fit, thank you very much!" said the god, thankful that his host's fur, hid the blush he got from her last comment that he wisely chose to ignore.

"You _were_ a war god; as in the past. As for being physically fit, you should thank the fact that you're a god and not a mortal. A human that spends so much time behind a desk could only end up as wide as the desk itself."

Groaning, even if it sounded a bit comical in his current form, Tyr was absolutely certain that this wasn't the heartfelt reunion with his ex wife he had always desired so much. It looked more like a discussion between an old couple, although, he couldn't dismiss the fact that Hild was a bit too happy about getting a reaction from him. He was so focused in his role as the Daitenkaicho that he often was far too serious these days; making it way too humorous for Hild to try and tease him in such a manner. "Thank you for your concern, but, I'm fine!"

"Maybe _you_ are, although I wouldn't say the same for your poor wife!" said Hild in her typically melodramatic way.

"Huh? Ansuz? What's the matter with her? She seems perfectly fine to me."

"Men!... Ugh!..." Shaking her head in disdain, Hild decided that the subtle approach wasn't going to work with him. While he was a fairly smart god, there were certain topics that were beyond his grasp or rather… his mind failed to connect the dots. "Look… that goddess is nowhere as forward when it comes to asking for some private time and Mister 'I'm too busy now, make an appointment and I'll see if I can talk to you' is giving her too much trouble. She even called me and asked for tips… Can you believe that?"

"S-She did?!" Staring at the tiny demoness with wide eyes, the possessed cat could hardly believe what he was hearing. " _And?..._ What did you tell her?"

"To drop that cutesy tutu of hers and go back to the more standard combat uniform she used to wear. With a backside like hers, that vacuum sealed uniform is bound to cause quite a few heads to turn and make a _certain someone_ start pay more attention, before another god beats him to it! As far as I'm aware, the threat of cuckoldry is the best way to motivate a bored hubby and make him stay competitive."

" _What… What kind of advice is this?!_ " At this point, the possessed cat was dangerously close to lose the first of his nine lives form either a stroke, a heart attack or… both at the same time.

"Hey… it works and besides… I'm a demoness," said Hild with a shrug. "What were you expecting me to say? To send you some flowers or even a puppy? Actually, scratch that idea… Ever since you got bitten by that one, you don't like dogs…"

"No kidding! I've nearly lost a hand… that stupid…" Shaking his head, Tyr stopped before he let her change the subject. "Never mind that! That's not the problem, here! Do you mind _not_ giving my wife any kind of advice?"

"Aw… come on, Tyr! I was just kidding! You don't think I'd tell her something like that, right?" said Hild with a reassuring smile, patting the hyperventilating kitten on his chest. 'At least not in the exact same manner… But, let's not mention that.'

"Really?"

"Have I ever said a lie? Um… actually, never mind that…" said Hild, scratching her head nervously. "Look, it's nice to see you act more like your old, lively self instead of the tired and always serious Daitenkaicho. Geez!... you never even smile anymore!"

"And now I've got a migraine… Thanks a lot…" grumbled the cat, although after a few seconds his expression softened a bit and let a sigh. "Okay, I'll have to admit that it was a bit funny. Just don't overdo it."

"Aw... you're so sweet! Especially now that you're trying to _help_ our daughter!" said Hild with a pleasant yet caustic manner, that made the cat's tail stand up, along with the rest of his fur.

"Oh, it's natural for me to try and make sure that, Urd…" started the god, before Hild cut his sentence short.

" _Natural?_ Forgive me if I'm mistaken here, but… Isn't this the _first_ time you're doing this?" said Hild with narrowed eyes, making Tyr even more nervous than he was before. "I'm fairly sure that you're more than happy to suspend poor Urd-chan's license whenever she gets into trouble, yet have you actually _tried_ to talk to her? Ask her how she's coping with things and why she's causing problems, or what happened after _yet another_ moron dumped her as if she was a disposable girlfriend. You know... all the boring stuff fathers do for their daughters. Well?... Any comments about that, my flabby kitty?"

" _M-Meow?..._ "

"Don't you even dare! I haven't sent my girl to Asgard to get this kind of treatment! I demand you start working harder, you hear me? And speaking of that, you better fix her memory or I'll do it for you!"

" _Ow! Not the whiskers! They're sensitive, so please let go of them!_ " Wincing a bit as his agitated ex released him from her iron grip, Tyr watched her stomp her tiny foot on the floor, waiting for an answer. "Look, I'm sorry that I was so focused on work and didn't pay enough attention to her. I've been too worried that pushing her too far would have the opposite results and that part of her mischievousness had to do with…"

"Me? Well, that's to be expected to a certain degree, but unlike Urd-chan, I know not to break any rules. Sure, I may love to bend them from time to time, although, that's not forbidden."

"I know… I should've done a lot more, yet… I do want to help now…" tried the possessed at with a pitiful look, making the demoness falter and let a tired sigh.

"Alright, I'll have to accept this. There's no point staying mad with you while you're actually trying… Just make sure she won't get any worse than she is right now. The poor girl can barely remember who and what she is. Actually… I'm not even sure she knows that she's a _half_ goddess, instead of a normal one!"

"It's hard to say, Hild. Vali hadn't told her, although, I'm not sure how much she remembered about her past. I can't ask her directly either; not without revealing my true identity in the process."

"I know that…" Looking down for a bit, Hild went surprisingly quiet for several seconds, lost in her own thoughts, before she turned back to Tyr. "Say… what do you expect she's going to think about me?"

"Are you worried that she won't accept you due to your nature?"

"I can't say that the thought hadn't crossed my mind. I… want her memories to return, Tyr; all of them."

"Don't worry, we'll fix this mess, you'll see." Patting her head, the god's expression softened, as he noticed the edge in the demoness' voice. While Urd didn't talk much about her early childhood, he did recall her admitting at some point that she was happy as a little girl. Even more, some of her clothes emulated those of her mother's and in many ways she did copy some of her mannerisms too, and not everything was just genetics and unconscious influences. Part of herself was willingly acting like her mother as a means to keep those early memories alive despite her efforts to keep some distance from the demons.

Offering a nod, the tiny version of the Daimakaicho hugged the cat, much to the latter's surprise. Snuggling against his fur, Hild couldn't help but smile, before the front door opened as the rest of temple's residents returned from their excursion. Panicking both the tiny demoness and even Tyr tried to get out of sight and while the former was much more successful; the latter wasn't.

"Hi there, Whiskers! How's my little ki-..." started Urd only to pause as she found the cat stuck halfway in a jar; his hind legs and tail thrashing about as he tried to get out of his conundrum. "Seriously!... What are you doing you silly thing?"

'Strange… I should've fit inside this…' thought the possessed cat, while the goddess pulled him out of the jar. "Meow?"

"I know that you're curious, but try not to get yourself in situations like these," said Urd with a smile, much to the cat's chagrin. "Hm… now that I think of it… Is it just me or are you gaining weight?"

'Not you too!' Trying to ignore the almost inaudible snigger from Hild's hiding position in the cupboard, Tyr could only do what any normal cat in his position would; act cute and hope that his daughter forgets about it. "Meow?"

"Nice try, Whiskers but from tomorrow, you're on a diet! Plus, I need to make sure you exercise more often. Watching TV while munching on snacks isn't a healthy lifestyle for you," said Urd before she paused and looked at their old TV. "Actually… how do you even operate the darn thing? It doesn't have a remote and you shouldn't be able to reach the controls. Strange… Oh well, better see what Vali bought for me!"

XXX

"So, did you two had a great time during your date?"

Blushing as the blue haired war god cadet addressed him, Keiichi tried to come up with something while he carried his brand new power drill. Equipped with a rechargeable battery and capable of working as a screwdriver, it was one of the most practical gifts he had received during the last few years. And the fact that it was something Urd bought for him made it way better in his eyes. "Well… It wasn't exactly a _date_ but… We visited a few shops and got this and…"

"I see. Although Urd mentioned something about a kiss," said Vali, making Keiichi blush as he tried to come up with an explanation.

However, the dark haired mechanic was spared when Urd came out of her room and as the others turned to look at her, they nearly forgot everything about their own conversation. Standing in the hallway with their jaws open wide, they saw the bronze skinned goddess wearing only the lacy lingerie set Vali had bought her; complete with the matching purple stocking and the garter belt.

"Mm… I think you've got something really nice for me, Vali!" purred Urd, while both the god in question and even Keiichi could only offer a nod as their eyes were glued at the goddess; especially given how she posed for them. "And you did buy me some sake, so that's a few extra points for you, too!"

"T-Then, I hope I'm… forgiven?" asked the war god cadet, trying to make sure that yesterday's incident was now forgotten part of the past.

"Hm… I'd say so. Still, try not to make another commotion like that, okay?"

"Of course! I never intended to repeat that particular incident."

"Good! Besides, that's not the proper way to remove a bra, anyway," said Urd, making both of her housemates start to worry, as she reached behind her back. "There's a clasp here and all you need to do is just…"

" _There's no need for a demonstration!_ "

Rushing to stop her before she carried out with what was most likely a prank, both Vali and Keiichi ended up bumping into each other, causing the former to drop a ticket he had been carrying with him.

"Ow!"

Forgetting about her joke, Urd reached to pick it up from the floor and take a look at it. "A lottery ticket? What is it for?"

"A trip to a local hot springs for four. There are other prizes too, but that's the best of them all," said Vali with a smile, both to see that she forgot about her previous scheme to tease them, as well as the fact that she appeared to like the idea; given her big grin.

"Awesome! And the winning number will be revealed... tomorrow!" said Urd as she read some of the details at the back of the ticket. "I can't wait! A visit to the hot springs is going to be the best way to spend a weekend!"

"Uh… isn't she a bit _too_ excited? I mean… there's no way to be sure that we'll win the big prize," whispered Keiichi to the blue haired god who also started to get a bit worried that he had inadvertently raised her hopes too much.

"Then I hope we're going to win something at least. It's going to be sad if we get nothing at all," said Vali with a frown. "However, I guess that we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out."

"I agree. Let's just hope for the best, then."

XXX

Meanwhile, inside the goddess' room, the possessed cat along with Hild's tiny avatar were staring at the picture of Urd kissing Keiichi, she had already framed and placed it in one of the bookshelves.

"What do you think, Hild?"

"She looks really pretty… and happy too. Even if this was simply meant to be an act, I believe that she wasn't actually faking it."

"Yeah… it's hard to believe but it seems that she may be serious about this one, after all."

Offering a nod, Hild couldn't help but wonder what she would've looked like in a wedding dress, although the physical resemblance between her daughter and herself was more than enough to give her a good idea.

'Perhaps, I should stick around for a bit longer… I want to see her being this happy with my own eyes. Yes, I think that's for the best.'

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

I would also like to thank for ObeliskX for the initial suggestion for a reverse harem setting that led to this story.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

This chapter contains an obvious reference to the anime adaptation and more specifically, the episode where Skuld was temporarily an adult. Of course in this case it's Urd the one who gets to spend time with Keiichi and while it's not exactly a romantic date, it's certainly a beginning for those two to spend more time together.

The third class god introduced was also based on an obscure reference Urd made when her former boyfriend appeared in the series. She said that a minor god once tried to flirt her and as a result, Troubadour used that curse on him. While nothing beyond that was ever mentioned, I based Dagaz (named after the rune for 'day') on that little bit of information and had to go from there.

Also, this is the last god to be added in the story as part of Urd's harem. I think that three males around her should be more than enough, as any more would make it too hard for me to give them enough time in the story to play their role as love interests for the goddess.

Hild meeting Tyr doesn't contradict any of the canon information from the manga, as he's merely possessing the cat's body. So, technically speaking, he and the demoness may be able to interact as long as their real bodies don't get too close to each other.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

* * *

" _Yes! We won!_ "

Watching the goddess bounce up and down in sheer excitement was more than enough to make her two housemates smile at the sight; although part of it was also due to how silly it seemed for a grown up to act like a little child. They were just checking the winning number for the lottery coupon Vali had bought yesterday and much to their surprise, they had apparently gotten the first prize; a free visit to a local hot springs for four people for a single day, with all the expenses covered.

"Well, I guess it was a great idea to buy it, Vali," said Keiichi to the quiet god next to him, as they stood in front of the announcement board set up in one of the marketplace's most central locations.

"I'll have to agree with that. I wasn't expecting much to be honest with you, given how unlikely it seemed for us to win anything," admitted the war god cadet as he checked the coupon once again, just to be sure that they hadn't misread it.

"No kidding! The chances were pretty slim, but I guess we've gotten lucky for a change. Although… I wonder who should we invite to come with us?" said Keiichi, scratching his chin in thought. "After all, there's an invitation for a fourth person."

"How about your sister or your boss? Either of them would be likely candidates for something like this."

"Um… I dunno. Inviting either of them would be like asking for trouble. I fear that they might try to convince Urd to get closer to me and… I'm not sure if this is such a great idea in an environment where she's going to be almost naked," said Keiichi with a sheepish expression.

"That… might be correct. However, it's still going to be a waste to simply leave it like that. Perhaps we can figure things out until the coming weekend."

"Yeah. And let's not mention the fact that we need to find some way to explain... well... you," said Keiichi as he suddenly realized something pretty important. Neither of those two actually knew anything about Vali and on top of that, they had no idea about Urd's true nature, making everything even more difficult to explain.

"Actually, that can be a bit tricky indeed. It would've been easier to introduce me as an old friend of Urd's, although… without her memories, it might seem odd to suddenly have people from her past showing up as if there's nothing wrong."

Nodding slowly, Keiichi had to agree with the god and also wondered for how long they could even keep their fellow housemate a secret from everyone else. There was definitely no way of either of them to ignore the similarities between Urd and Vali, especially when it came to those markings on their faces and also the fact they both appeared to be foreigners. Sooner or later, someone was bound to make that connection and start asking questions about where the god came from or why he was living with them all of a sudden.

"Hey, what's with the long faces? Cheer up, we won a free trip to a hot springs resort!" said Urd as she finally snapped out of it and decided to check on her two housemates. "Have you even read what the rest of the prizes are?"

The pained groan from a bystander close to them made the trio glance over at the trembling young man who won that fabulous prize of… ten kilos of broccoli.

"Um… point taken. We were just wondering who else to invite along, that's all!" said Keiichi, trying to avoid any mention of their issue with how to introduce Vali to the others.

"Let's not worry too much about it for now," said Urd with a shrug. "Instead, we should make the necessary preparations and leave such things for later."

Looking at each other, Keiichi and the blue haired god wondered just what kind of preparations one needed for something as simple as a visit to a hot springs resort. Still, neither was looking forward to find out what the goddess had in mind; especially Keiichi who felt that it might've involved some of the goddess' more daring outfits.

"As you wish, Urd."

"Excellent! Then let's go and buy some supplies for us!" said the half goddess, with a big grin on her face. "Starting with some sake!"

"But… they're going to serve us sake in the hot springs too!" said the baffled mechanic as he had trouble to understand how Urd would've missed something so obvious.

"That they will. However, there's a certain limit on how much we can spend during that visit," replied Urd as she pointed at the details written in tiny letters at the back of the ticket. "See? It only covers the basic expenses, which means that everything else will have to come from our own pockets. In that case, it's going to be much cheaper to buy some booze from one of the local stores, instead of getting it while we're there."

Leaning towards Vali in a conspicuous way, Keiichi had to know one thing. "Um… is she the goddess of avarice or something?"

"I've heard that!" said Urd, making the mortal wince, while the blue haired god wisely chose to remain silent.

"Now, instead of making silly comments, how about we go and buy those supplies?"

Without any hesitation, both her housemates offered her a salute and started for the closest liquor shop, while the bronze skinned goddess giggled at that sight and followed them.

'This is going to be perfect.'

XXX

'So, this is the place. It looks nice, if I have to say so myself.'

Inspecting the temple grounds, not unlike a tourist Dagaz was actually eager to get started with his new assignment. Thankfully for him, Lind hadn't sealed him but informed the blonde god that he was selected to offer some assistance to Urd; a proposition that made him rather excited.

Of course, he was aware that there was already another god stationed here and for a moment he wondered why his presence would change anything, but in the end he decided to go for it. After all, it was a unique opportunity to do something for Urd and hopefully make her notice him in the long run. Without any official boyfriend to monopolize her attention and even throw curses around, Dagaz was optimistic that he would finally get a decent chance, or at the very least earn a few good points.

Deciding that first impressions were important, he checked his robes once again to make sure that nothing was out of place before he rang the doorbell. Waiting for several seconds in vain, the god started to worry that he may have picked the wrong time to visit them, yet as he was about to turn around, the door finally opened and almost immediately Dagaz offered whoever welcomed him a bow.

"Greetings! I'm pleased to make your acquaintance! I'm god third…" started the blonde deity only to notice that there wasn't anyone in front of him; or at least, that's what he thought at a first glance until he looked down.

"Meow."

Staring at the tabby cat who apparently tried to waive a hand or rather… a paw at him, the god couldn't help but wonder if this was some sort of coincidence or the feline really answered the door on its own. Of course, he had no idea that this particular cat was under his leader's direct control and neither did the Daitenkaicho decide to reveal his presence, acting like a strange cat instead.

"Uh… hi?"

"Meow!"

"Wait.. why am I talking to a cat?" Shaking his head despite the amusement of the possessed feline who was using this opportunity to observe the candidate Lind had picked to hopefully replace her son.

Tyr wondered if the Valkyrie commander was upset that Vali was stationed there as some kind of punishment for blowing his cover and sought to find a decent substitute. Although, another possibility was that she may had attempted to prevent him from getting _too close_ to a goddess as wild as Urd. While most fathers would've taken offense at such a notion, Tyr was more than certain that if his daughter was nearly as hard to handle as Hild, Lind's concerns weren't completely baseless.

'Hm… I wonder if this one will even attract Urd's attention. And besides… who said that Vali can leave without my consent? I never thought that the day would come to see Lind of all goddesses act in such a sentimental way and failing to notice something that obvious.'

Meanwhile, the blonde god while hesitant decided to enter the house in search of any of its residents, totally unaware of the fact that it wasn't just his own leader present, but the same could be said about Hild too. Despite being only a mere thousandth of her true body, the little Daimakaicho had more than enough power to be considered as a force to be reckoned with, although at the moment she was keeping a low profile in order to avoid being detected.

"Um… hello? Is anybody home?"

Shaking his head, the possessed cat had a bad feeling that such an action would only lead into problems later on and went after him, just to make sure that, Hild wouldn't get any funny ideas. Unbeknownst to him that was _exactly_ what his ex wife had in mind, as soon as she noticed the blonde god's arrival on the temple grounds.

" _Over here!_ "

Blinking both Dagaz and the baffled cat that followed after him turned towards Urd's room where the voice had originated from and while the former seemed happy that he had finally found someone, the latter knew all too well that this wasn't his daughter, but a much more troublesome individual than her.

'Oh… no… What are you trying to pull this time, Hild?'

Walking towards the room labeled as _Urd's Castle_ , Dagaz paused and knocked the wooden frame of the traditional Japanese door and noticed the shadow that was visible through the rice paper. The outline of a sensual, curvy body could be seen from within as she approached the door and for a moment Dagaz couldn't help but blush at the idea that she might've been wearing something revealing, like she typically does while outside of her house.

Indeed, as the door finally opened, it revealed the almost naked form of Hild with only a tiny towel wrapped tightly around her body and above all, she had assumed a much more mature appearance instead of the typically childlike body of her avatar. "Oh, hello there cutie pie! I was about to take a bath, so, I hope you don't mind me dressed like that."

Dagaz could only stare, unable to form any coherent thoughts as he found someone other than he had initially expected. It was no secret that Urd was of demonic descent and furthermore that the very leader of demonkind happened to be her mother; the very person who stood before him. Despite the impulse to run as far away from her as possible, Dagaz just couldn't take his eyes away from the demoness' ample bosom that threatened to unravel the towel around her. And he hadn't even gotten to see the full version of her, as that one was even more gifted than her avatar. Yet despite all that, it was apparently more than enough to make blonde celestial drool.

"Uh…"

"What is it cutie?" asked Hild with a playful purr as she leaned forward much to the god's delight; at least, one of them, as the other was seething in silent rage. A fact that hadn't gone unnoticed by the demoness who simply couldn't help but tease both celestials a bit more. "Are you really so happy to see me that you can't say anything? Don't worry, I like shy boys, so I might even let you scrub my back!"

Choking hard at the mental image of doing that with the notoriously flirty Daimakaicho, Dagaz was blissfully unaware of the possessed cat's reaction that silently stood by him. With his fur standing up as if he was touching a Van de Graaff generator, Tyr was actually sparking once static electricity began to discharge into the air surrounding him. However, all that paled when the demoness' towel began to slide lower and before the blonde god got the chance to see anything, a blinding light forced everyone's eyes shut.

The sheer force of a Skysplitting Thunder descended upon the face of the Earth, and reduced the whole area around the temple into a smoldering pile of rubble.

XXX

" _Aw!.._. You _did_ get jealous!"

"Leave me alone, Hild! I'm not in the mood for silly games..." Grumbling from his spot on top the temple's roof, Tyr could only blame himself for falling into his ex's trap, and in the most spectacular way too. While it took them a moment to restore the damage he had caused, the same couldn't be said about his pride that took a rather hard hit.

"Oh, come on, Tyr! You're just upset that I've managed to get a reaction out of you!" said Hild, now back into her childlike form, as she hovered next to the possessed cat.

"And in the process, you seem to have forgotten everything about keeping a low profile," said the annoyed Daitenkaicho. "We may have fixed the physical damage, but that still leaves us with an unconscious god in the living room! What do you think they're going to think when they'll find him like that?"

"Hm… We might put three bowls of food on the table; one too hot, another too cold and…"

"This isn't a children's story! And he's a god, not Goldilocks for goodness sake!"

"Dunno… he is blonde, after all. And Urd-chan can be a bit like a bear at times, so…"

"Hild! This is serious!"

"Fine, fine!... Sheesh… you're so serious sometimes," said the demoness, as she scratched her head in thought. "Alright, let's just seal him in a lamp!"

"How did you even remember that kind of container? We can use something more modern…" started Tyr until he realized that she was fully aware of all that and more importantly, she was smiling. "Please tell me that you're not making another reference… We've got a serious problem, and you're just fooling around!"

"Okay! You can simply try to explain what happened, and tell them that it was just a case of… electrostatic discharge. You're a cat after all and they do sometimes cause some sparks when they rub their fur on something made out wool."

"Stop making silly jokes! There's no way I can tell them anything without blowing my cover and…"

"You can wear some boots and claim that this is the reason you can talk! That's gonna do the trick!"

Frustration was already building up in the desperate god who wished his current form had opposing thumbs so that he could pull his whiskers. No matter what he said, Hild wasn't taking this situation as seriously as she ought to, leaving him alone to find out what to do with this whole mess. And while it was true that he caused most of the damage, Hild was far from innocent, yet she seemed totally carefree about it. "For once, just listen to me! We need to find out a plausible explanation for this, and soon!"

"How about cosmic rays? That works most of the time," said Hild with a grin.

"Whenever someone messes with the mortals' aerospace agencies! We're not in space and neither are we dealing with NASA here!" said the god who at this point was close to tears; mostly out of frustration. "Besides, what's wrong with you? It seems that you don't even care at all as to what's going to happen."

"Actually, I do, but unlike you I'm not worrying too much about it. After all, I did delete that god's latest memories and by the time he wakes up, the others will be here," said Hild with a wink. "He can simply introduce himself as if nothing is wrong, and we can call this whole crisis over. Oh, and for your information, there's nothing wrong with me. I'm simply happy, that's all there is to it."

"Huh? About what?"

"Well… a certain someone I knew still likes me," said Hild with a big grin, while the embarrassed god turned around.

"Don't say it like that…" muttered the possessed cat, lowering his head.

"I'll have to agree with that, Hild. If mother hears of this, she might get a bit upset."

Turning to the source of this interruption, they found none other than Belldandy who must've sensed the spell and arrived to see what was going on.

"Ah, it's been quite a while, Belldandy," said Hild, without a trace of malice in her voice; quite the opposite of what one might've expected given that this was the first child her lover had with another woman.

"I'll have to agree to that, Hild. I cannot say how long it's been since we last met, but it pleases me that you're here now. Urd's certainly going to be happy once she learns of your presence, since she still thinks highly of you," said the brunette goddess with a bright smile on her face.

"Maybe… It's sometimes really hard to predict that girl's reactions and her memory loss complicates matters even more than normal," said Hild with a sigh. "Even you had avoided to make contact with her, as a matter of fact."

"That's sadly true. We're worried that if she's exposed to her past all of a sudden, things might get even worse. As such, neither me nor Skuld attempted to come into contact with her so far, at least until she begins to remember more about her background," said Belldandy with a frown.

"And yet, you're still here."

"Yes… It feels wrong to simply go back to Asgard and pretend that everything's fine. I may have to stay in the sidelines for now, but, it's comforting to watch Urd's progress instead of leaving her on her own," said the brunette goddess, smiling a little bit as she glanced towards the city, where Urd and her two housemates currently were.

"I suppose you're right about that," said Hild with a smile of her own, content that her daughter had a supportive sister like Belldandy. "Actually, since you've got nothing to do for the moment… How about we hit a bar? I think I owe you a drink for taking care of my girl, and besides… it's going to be fun!"

"Um… actually I've never been to a bar before," admitted the brunette goddess, while her father seemed to get worried about his ex's intentions.

"Excellent! Then you can try something new, too!" said Hild with a big grin, noticing Tyr's expression as she tugged his daughter along. "Also, put something nice on, dear! Who knows… we might get some dates today!"

" _Dates? B-But…I..._ " tried Belldandy, as the enthusiastic Daimakaicho assumed an older, grown up body once again.

"Don't worry too much about it. I promise that it's going to be fun, you'll see!"

" _Hild! What do you think you're doing?_ " asked the possessed cat, after he began to realize that the demoness was actually serious and not just fooling around like she previously did.

"I'm trying to show this girl how to have some fun! At least, someone has to do that before she becomes a workaholic like her daddy, so, mind your business… Mr. Jealous Cat," said Hild, sticking her tongue out at the possessed feline.

"I'm not a jealous cat! Well… I may be a cat or rather control the body of one, but… I forbid you to take my daughter to such a… a… suspicious establishment!"

"Are you for real? It's a _bar_ for Hell's sake, not a _strip club!_ Now stop being ridiculous and let us girls have some fun, while you fix this mess," said Hild with a wink as she pushed the reluctant brunette along. "Now you'll have to excuse us! See you in a few hours! Ta ta!"

"Wait! Hold on a second! Hild!"

However, it was far too late for him to change the demoness' mind and with a frustrated sigh, the possessed cat simply shook his head in resignation watching his ex teleport away, along with Belldandy. Hild was difficult to work with at times and especially when he tried to tell her _not_ to do something; which more than often resulted in doing it just to spite him.

'Then again, it probably should be fine. As long as she doesn't make Belldandy drink Cola, there's no way she could get her drunk; even if she makes her drink everything available there. Last thing we need is trying to stop her from another incident like the last one…'

Pausing for a moment, Tyr contemplated how likely it was for Hild to try and pull such a stunt and after a few moments he decided that there was only one recommended course of action: to run after them.

XXX

"Is this really what humans wear for such occasions?"

Inspecting herself, Belldandy had to admit that the clothes Hild had provided for her were comfortable, yet really different from anything she typically preferred. With a blue, sleeveless blouse and a pair of tight, white pants, the brunette was attracting a lot more attention than normal while she walked right next to Hild.

"Of course! It's a pretty stylish choice of clothing by human standards and ideal for a situation like this!"

Offering her a smile, the Daimakaicho had changed into a relatively simple, red form fitting dress and a pair of thigh high boots; a rather modest choice of an attire by her own standards. Of course, in this case, the demoness wished to avoid getting too much attention to herself and instead hoped to make the usually shy goddess appreciate her natural appeal a bit more.

"Then I suppose it'll have to do. After all, I must admit that it's a pretty comfortable outfit," said the Norn of the present, without realizing just how many heads had turned in her wake. One of the interesting side effects of wearing more conservative robes was that it made her less aware of the way her body moved, as her clothes typically concealed a lot of the otherwise extraneous motions; especially the slight sway of her hips. Yet that was exactly what caught most bystander's attention, coupled by the otherwise irresistible smile on the brunette's face, or even the exotic beauty next to her.

"See? I told you you were going to like this! Now, let's take a seat and have a drink," said Hild, leading the brunette along while giving a wink to some of the more attractive boys that eyed them, while the goddess wasn't looking at her.

"Hm.. I can't say that I'm too familiar with alcoholic beverages, so, I'll let you pick something for me."

"Two daiquiris for us," said Hild to the bartender before she turned back to Belldandy. "You know, I can arrange for an apartment for you to stay in while you're here on Earth. The one you're currently using is a bit too… spartan for the lack of a better description."

"Thank you, but I think it's sufficient for the purpose it's serving. I'm not here on vacations and as such, I don't need all those extraneous comforts," said the goddess as she cautiously sipped from her drink.

"Don't be so fast to dismiss my offer, Belldandy. There's nothing wrong for a girl like you to have something beyond the basic necessities, and besides… you could invite some _friends_ there, too," said Hild with a grin as she also drank from her glass. "If you know what I mean…"

"Uh… I'm here on my own, so, I cannot see how I could invite other celestials over for a nice cup of tea."

Resisting to palm herself, Hild made a mental note that she was dealing with Asgard's most difficult goddess when it came to such matters and as a result, a more direct approach was needed or she would entirely miss the point. "Actually, I meant any humans you might meet while you're here. I appreciate that you're spending most of your day observing Urd, but, now that I'm also here on Nekomi, there's no need to do that all around the clock. Just enjoy your stay a bit and use the opportunity to socialize; maybe even date a few boys or girls, depending on your preferences."

"But… that's not why I'm…"

"Why you're here? Look, Belldandy, I know that it's unlikely for a goddess to listen to my advice, but, I think that having some experience is better than getting into a relationship with no prior knowledge. I'm not even saying to end up bedding anyone, either; dates can simply stop at having a nice meal or a few drinks with someone. And before you even ask… No, I'm _not_ talking about what we're doing now. This is more of… a case of two friends spending time together."

"Still, I cannot understand why you wish me to do that. I accept that you've got a point about my inexperience, yet, I fail to see how that's relevant to my presence here."

"It's an opportunity, for the lack of a better word. I know all about that impeccable reputation of yours and while you might see my intent as a way to trick you into doing something you'd normally wouldn't consider, it's probably your ticket out of being everyone's role model and become a person of your own," said Hild as she watched the brunette's reactions for any sign of disapproval.

"And dating others would help achieve that? I may hadn't tried my luck with relationships before, but, I cannot see how doing that would make others stop looking up at me; not that I'm interested for such a thing, as it admittedly gets tiresome at times."

"Like I said, it would remind everyone that you're a goddess… no… a woman and not an abstract set of ideals. You're probably too young to understand this right now, but, whenever someone becomes the center of all attention, their reputation becomes their shackles. It gets to point where one starts to fear getting into any situation where they might be depicted in a negative light and begin to focus only on things that involve no risks. And I'll have to attest that relationships are one the most dangerous things when it comes to making mistakes. Of course, it doesn't happen all the time, but, whenever things fall apart and rumors of what went wrong start to circulate, it _can_ damage a person's public image and in the case of someone with your reputation… You can see where I'm going.." Pausing once again to check for the goddess' expression, Hild was rather shocked to see her giggle, instead of a frown that she had originally expected. "You're not upset with all that?"

"Not at all. As a matter of fact, Urd had once told me something vaguely similar, although she wasn't worried that I was reluctant to do things in order to avoid ruining my reputation or something like that. But with several others doing that very thing, I cannot truly blame you for assuming that this was the case with me too. Instead, neesan's primary concern was that I could end up becoming a workaholic and inevitably leave no time for a private life at all. She even tried to find us a date for the night, and given that she promised to end the entire thing before things got too far, I've agreed," said Belldandy, with a smile as she took another sip from her drink.

Hild on the other hand nearly spat her mouthful, and ended up choking it before she stared at the goddess in utter shock. "Wait! You've actually agreed to _that?_ "

"Yes. Is there something wrong with it?"

"There are so many things to list, that I don't even know where to start," said Hild, shaking her head. "Actually, it's a good thing that we've got something to drink. I really need it, now."

"But… weren't you trying to make me do something similar?" asked Belldandy with a small frown, as she tilted her head.

"I was, but I still find it hard that you went along with it. Actually… what happened? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Oh, we had such a great time!"

"Really?" Hild couldn't help but wonder if her daughter had actually given her sister one of her potions back then, but quickly dismissed the thought as it was unlikely for Urd to go that far.

"Yes! We had some tea and then discussed at the various flavors each of us preferred and once we found out that we knew about cooking, we shared a few recipes too!" said Belldandy with a big smile. "I must admit that the whole experience was far more enjoyable than I had initially expected! Even Urd agreed that it was the best date she had!"

"Right… Of course... it sounded so nice!" said Hild with a forced smile, as she gulped down her glass and ordered another one. 'I _really_ hope Urd-chan was lying. Because if that was her _best date_ , I'd hate to find out what her worst was.'

"Although… for some reason, neesan didn't try to do that with me again. I wonder why?..."

'I don't…' Shaking her head as she drank some more, the Daimakaicho decided to change her strategy, as her original plan was probably going to end up in a fiasco. "In that case, how about we try something a bit different? Dates aren't the only thing one can do to have some fun in their free time! For example, how about going to a hot springs resort?"

"Like the one, neesan will visit?"

"Yes! I'll even come to keep you company!"

"Umm… I must admit that it sounds nice, but, I don't know what it has to do with anything you've previously mentioned," said Belldandy with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh that? Don't sweat about little things like that! The whole point is to help you relax a bit and learn to do stuff that everyone else does when they want to have fun!" said Hild, trying to reassure her. "So, do you want to give it a try?"

"Well… I don't see why not."

"Perfect! We'll go to one on this weekend!" said Hild with a big grin. "I'll make all the arrangements, so, you don't have to worry about anything at all!"

Offering her a nod, Belldandy couldn't help but notice that there was something suspicious about the date, Hild had chosen. Urd and her housemates will be visiting one during that period of time and it was too much of a coincidence in her opinion. However, if Hild was planning anything, then he goddess reasoned that tagging along would prove to be better than letting her do whatever she wished on her own and as such, Belldandy decided to just play along and see what was going to happen.

'Although, I do sound like neesan. For all I know, maybe Hild isn't planning anything and I'm just unfair with her. At any rate, I'll make sure nothing bad happens. And maybe… I could have fun, too.'

XXX

"Just a few more minutes mom…"

Turning around, Dagaz tried to ignore the incessant poking on his shoulder and instead, attempted to go back to sleep, totally unaware that not only he actually wasn't in his bed, but the one trying to wake him up wasn't his mother.

"Should I try my method, now?" asked Vali from his position next to Urd who was far too stubborn to admit defeat and let the others deal with the intruder.

"If that involves giving him a sharp kick in the groin… then, no," said the half goddess as she eyed at the war god cadet who had already changed in his battle uniform and held his axe in a menacing manner.

"Actually, I would've gone for his chin. So, can I do it?"

"On a second though… no. I still have an ace up my sleeve!" said Urd as went and retrieved a green tube from the fridge.

"Uh… hold on a moment! Isn't that the wasabi paste I bought the other day?" asked Keiichi with a horrified look on his face, before he turned to the cadet next to him. "Quick! Give him a kick! It's a much better fate than…"

However, it was already far too late for the mortal to stop what was about to happen, much to Vali's confusion, who had no idea what wasabi even was. Watching Urd unscrew the cap, Keiichi winced as she poured a generous amount of the hot, green paste into the sleeping god's mouth and then took a few steps back.

"There! That ought to do the job!" said the half goddess with a such an evil gleam in her eyes that would've made her mother proud.

"Can someone tell me what that stuff is?" asked the still confused Vali, looking between his housemates.

"It's a paste made out of a variety of horseradish we have here here in Japan. In normal quantities it's something to spice food up, but…" started Keiichi, as he glanced over at the now half empty tube in Urd's hands. "In such quantity, it counts as a bioweapon…"

"Oh, you're just exaggerating, Keiichi!" said Urd, as she tried to reassure them by emptying the rest in her own mouth. "See? I'm perfectly fine! So, stop making a huge deal about…"

" _HOT!_ "

Nearly jumping up from the bed in a state of shock, Dagaz's mind had finally registered the burning sensation that threatened to overwhelm him and caused his powers to manifest in the most literal interpretation of his feelings. As a result, the three bystanders had to dive for cover when the blonde god began to breathe fire while he still struggled to figure out what was going on here. One moment he was ringing the doorbell and the next, he was living blowtorch.

"Whoa! That's real fire!" said Keiichi, as he dived for cover behind Vali, who formed a shield to prevent them from getting singed by accident.

"And that's why we should've gone with my idea," said the cadet to Urd, who tried to act as if nothing was wrong at all, despite the unfolding drama.

"Oh come on! You saw me eat nearly as much of that stuff and I'm perfectly fine! How was I supposed to know that he'd over react like this?" countered the half goddess, while Dagaz desperately tried to find something to soothe his burning mouth.

"That's only because you like spicy foods. Which is clearly not the case with this guy… whoever he happens to be, anyway…" said Vali as he stared at the distressed god who accidentally tripped on the low table and fell flat on his face.

"At any rate, I think we should try to help him first, or he won't be able to answer any questions we might have," said Keiichi as he headed towards the kitchen to grab a glass of milk, since it was the best remedy he knew for spicy food. "Here, this will make the burn go away."

"Thank you!" Grabbing the glass, Dagaz didn't even bother to get up from the floor and simply gulped its contents in one go, desperately hoping for salvation. "Ahh!... That's much better! I'm really in your debt, um…"

"Keiichi," said the dark haired mortal as he introduced himself before turning to do the same for the others. "That god over there with the axe is called Vali and the goddess is…"

"I'm Urd! Nice to meet you, handsome!," said the Norn of the past with a wink, trying to hide the wasabi tube she was holding.

"She acts so innocently for someone who just made him suffer so much," whispered Keiichi to the blue haired god, who only nodded in agreement.

"Truly frightening if you ask me…"

"What are you two mumbling over there?" asked the goddess in question, glaring at the duo, before she got an idea on how to teach them a lesson for talking behind her back. Turning to the still dazed god on the floor, she helped him get up on his feet and made sure that she hugged his arm a bit too close to her bust. "Here, let me give you a hand, sweetie!"

"Oh, thank you very much," said Dagaz, before he realized where his arm currently was and as a result, the god's mind turned into mush; raveling at the soft and warm sensation he was experiencing. 'A-Am I still dreaming?... So…so... _nice!_...'

Shaking his head in disdain, Vali was less than impressed, let alone jealous from Urd's sudden display of affection towards the same god she had pulled that prank moment ago. "Great… First she made him breathe fire and now she switched his higher functions off."

"And she didn't even bother to get rid of the murder weapon," added Keiichi as he stared at the wasabi tube that was left in plain sight on top of the low table. "Talk about an amateurish approach."

"Don't listen to those _nasty_ comments! They're just jealous that I'm not so nice to them, right _honey?_ " said Urd with a low purr, causing the blonde god's already overwhelmed mind to come to a screeching halt.

" _Honey…_ " said Dagaz, repeating the word he so much wished to hear from her

"Well, she does have to call you something," said Vali, clearing his throat. "Not to mention that it sounds better than _hey you over there…_ "

"I'll have to agree on that, actually. After all, you still haven't properly introduced yourself," said Keiichi, trying to sound a bit more polite than the blue haired cadet, who subconsciously tightened the grip on his axe.

'Heh… they may try to deny it, but they sure sound jealous to me.' Trying to hide her grin, Urd was actually pleased that her two housemates were reacting to her flirty attitude towards the newcomer, yet not in an exaggerated way that would've ended up in a rather ugly scene. The goddess wished to be desirable enough to those around her, however she also valued her independence and hated it when she was treated like someone's property. Even with most of her memories inaccessible, Urd's attitude towards that subject hadn't changed at all and as such, she felt that a quick test was necessary to ensure that neither of them was far too possessive. And while she had definitely expected a reaction from Keiichi, it was rather interesting to see that Vali was also acting a bit different than his quiet and collected self. However, she had to admit that they did have a point there and finding out more about the newcomer's identity was more important than playing games and as such, Urd decided to ask him a few questions while he seemed to be smitten by her. "Actually, they do seem to be correct about one thing, sweetie. How about you tell us your name and what you're doing here?"

"Huh? Oh, right!" Snapping out of it, even though he was still feeling somewhat woozy from the sensation of having his arm trapped in the goddess' supple bust, Dagaz tried to collect his thoughts and avoid giving her a bad first impression. Retrieving his business card from his robes, the blonde god cleared his throat before he finally introduced himself. "I'm god third class, first category, limited license, Dagaz. Given the recent developments, and more specifically the fact that, Urd is now aware of her true nature, I was tasked to provide her all the necessary aid and support she needs to learn how to properly use her powers. It was determined that leaving her figure out her abilities on her own could be far too dangerous and that's why I'm here."

"Well, that sounds nice, actually," said Urd, before she was interrupted by Vali, who seemed to be rather skeptical by the blonde's explanation.

"No offense, but I find it rather peculiar that a third class god was sent to act as a mentor for Urd," said the cadet with a raised eyebrow. "In most cases, that's the task for a first or at the very least a second class celestial, and while I don't want to sound rude, I'm rather intrigued as to why you've been chosen. Furthermore, you said that you've got a _first category_ license, which basically means an administrative position as you primary career."

"Is that a problem?" asked Keiichi, who had little idea about celestial licenses; aside from the tiny bits of information Vali had provided for them.

"In a way, it might be. Administrative positions typically deal with handling Yggdrasil as well as well as keeping records and overseeing every aspect of our everyday activities; except from what is considered as part of our private lives of course. To make it better understood, you could say that they handle Asgard's bureaucracy. Second category licenses involve commercial activities, but in this case it's the third category that's really important. Those deal with all kinds of services, including healthcare, education, manufacturing of goods and even commerce," explained Vali, before pausing to see if Keiichi and Urd seemed to understand what he was saying. "Most mentors, any other kind of consultants or even physicians would normally hold a third category type license and as such, I find it strange that his, is an administrative one instead."

Nodding slowly, both Urd and Keiichi turned to Dagaz, who was suddenly looking a lot less comfortable than a moment ago. He too was perfectly aware of this _tiny_ issue and personally hoped that it would've taken some time for the others to notice it; only to be exposed in mere seconds. The only other solution was to lie about his license, but aside from the fact that it was technically illegal to provide a fake business card, such an attempt would've ruined any chances to make a good impression to Urd in the long run.

"Well, I have to admit that I'm just a debugger, and never really did anything like that in the past," admitted Dagaz, before he tried to come up with something to explain his presence here. "But then again, it's a highly unusual case and sending someone without any preconceptions could perhaps give us the break we needed. Most experts in Asgard cannot really figure out what to do with Urd's situation, but that's most likely because of her unique..."

"I think we've got the point, even if I still have my reservations," said Vali interrupting the other god, before he accidentally said too much about Urd's heritage. So far he had avoided to reveal the fact that she's not a full blooded goddess, but a hybrid, and while he had no idea whether she remembered anything about it, Vali didn't want to be the one to break the news to her if that happened to be the case.

As a matter of fact, both Urd and Keiichi noticed how abruptly the cadet decided to interrupt his fellow god and given his otherwise quiet and reserved personality, it was definitely something suspicious. However, the biggest question was what to do with the newcomer, who was looking around them with a hopeful expression on his face; almost like a lost puppy that needed a home.

Scratching her chin, Urd had to admit that wasn't sure to do with this guy at all. He did sound like an honest person so far and his cheerful attitude was reassuring, considering that he looked forward to help her, but a darker part of her mind doubted his sincerity. In a way, he was a bit _too_ happy to offer his assistance and that only meant that there might've been something he was after from all this and if Urd had to make a guess; he might've been trying to earn a few good points with her. The half goddess knew that the blonde's responses to her previous acting was definitely a sign that he wasn't terribly bothered by the idea of getting close to her, whereas a totally indifferent god would've politely remind her to respect his personal space.

Feeling everyone's eyes on her, she realized that they were expecting her opinion about the subject, since this god claimed to be here for her and as much as she doubted parts of his story, Urd knew that in the end she had to make a decision.

"Hm… I suppose I could give you a chance and see if you can actually help me or not. Besides we've got an empty room, so you can stay here without inconveniencing anyone. I just hope you like instant noodles because that's on the menu most of the days."

"Thank you very much! And I can can actually cook, so it won't be a problem!" said Dagaz with a big smile, seeing that this was his first opportunity to impress her and even make the others accept him.

"Really?" asked Urd with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course! I may not be a gourmet chef, but I can definitely make a lot of different dishes and I even know a large variety of desserts," said Dagaz before he paused as the excited goddess slapped his shoulders.

"Great! You're hired!... I mean... You're staying here!"

"That was easy…" said Vali, as Keiichi offered a slow nod.

"Way _too_ easy…"

"Oh give me a break! If you've got a problem with it, then why don't _you_ cook for once?" said Urd, making both of them to look away, since neither actually knew how to prepare anything other than instant food.

"Well… I'm a mechanic and cooking wasn't never one of my strongest points. Although... I can cook rice..." started Keiichi, looking over to Vali for some support, only to have the blue haired god summon a white bag.

"I can prepare MREs, actually," said the cadet in a desperate yet futile attempt to say something for himself. "The new versions are better than the ones we used in the past. They even come in several flavors, and there's even an option for dessert, too!"

"Thanks but no thanks! I'm not going to eat those if I can have real food instead," said Urd, before she turned to Dagaz with a big smile on her face. "So, what's on the menu today? I must admit that I'd like some Italian for a change? I'm kind of tired at the cheap noodles we eat all the time!"

"Um… how about... uh… lasagna?" asked the worried god, as he worried that in his overzealousness he may had raised her expectations a bit too much. "Would you like that?"

"It's a deal!" said Urd with a big grin, despite Vali's sore expression as he stared at his MRE. "Actually, we haven't had any launch yet!"

"Oh, that's fine. I can start cooking right away," said Dagaz, swallowing a bit as he began to get nervous, especially knowing that other than the goddess herself, her two housemates would be much harder to impress; especially the cadet.

'I… I must pull this though, or I'm going to make a fool of myself in front of everyone. I guess I need to stop wasting time and get busy in the kitchen.'

XXX

"Hey, that's actually really tasty!"

Smiling as he sampled the food Dagaz served them, Urd was actually glad that she took him in. It was far better than most of the instant stuff they've been having for a while now, and the prospect of having someone who could actually cook was really appealing not only to her, but for the mortal who stood next to her too.

"I'll have to agree with Urd!" said Keiichi with a smile on his face. "You really did a great job!"

"Oh, thank you both! You're so kind," said Dagaz, scratching the back of his head despite the cold glare he was getting from Vali who sat outside the living room where everyone else was gathered and enjoyed his own meal in silence.

'Traitor…' thought the blue haired god as he stared at the dark haired mechanic who decided to side with the enemy. Or at least, with the newcomer who still seemed suspicious to him, feeling that there was something off about his story. 'Everyone just accepted his obviously weak story as soon as he bribed them with food. Seriously…'

Taking a bite from the cheesecake flavored biscuits that came along with the solidified mix of nutrients that comprised the celestial version of an MRE. Munching at his food that only needed some water to soften the hard brick-like mix into something that didn't require the bite force of a tyrannosaurus rex to chew, Vali enjoyed what few actually looked forward to eat. As a matter of fact, he had once witnessed the abhorrent sight of one of his comrades in arms asking a demon to exchange his collection of manga for a one of their rations that included pre-cooked meat, vegetables and bread, followed along with a pudding like dessert, all stored in cans.

'At least that was due to being stuck in that, weeks long standoff. Not that I justify his act or anything, but I could find an excuse for that traitorous behavior. This, on the other hand… I cannot forgive!'

"Hey, don't sit here on your own, Vali. Why don't you come inside and have lunch with the rest of us?" Approaching the blue haired god, Urd did her best to try and convince him to join them, given that he was the only one who declined to eat the newcomer's food and simply sat outside on the patio.

"I _am_ having launch, actually," said the war god cadet pointing at his MRE, which made Urd frown at how quickly he turned her offer down.

In all honesty, the bronze skinned goddess was beginning to realize that despite his calm and collected attitude, Vali wasn't all that different than the average person… or god for that matter. Apparently her acceptance of Dagaz may had a rather unwanted side effect which could be best described as jealousy. It was something that she actually had expected from Keiichi who after all, was the one that she had spent the most time together and even shared a kiss, despite the circumstances behind it. Not to mention that the cadet was already aware of how close she and the mortal were and yet remained relatively unaffected by it; unlike his current reaction to the blonde god who was just trying his best to make himself useful.

'Hm… I must've underestimated him. He seems so polite and calm that I never thought it was possible to get him jealous, or even that he might've been interested in me to begin with. Is it possible that he didn't perceive Keiichi as a threat, being a mortal and all that? Or is it just that one guy around me is a bit too much for him to handle? Then again, I probably went too far with my teasing and… I guess it must've been the same for Keiichi, even if he's doing his best to act as if nothing is wrong…'

Looking on the ground as she sat next to Vali who was still eating his lunch, Urd had to admit that despite her best efforts to act in a more controlled manner. Whenever she really had to show reservations, she ended up doing the exact opposite, not unlike a young child that was being told not to do something. And the worst part of all was that she was starting to involve those around her, making her worry that inevitably she'd end up pushing them away. After all, if someone as calm and collected as Vali started to get pissed with the way she acted around moments ago, it was definitely proof that she was doing something wrong here.

"You know… I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Blinking, the cadet turned to the half goddess with a baffled expression on his face. "What for?"

"You know… about trying to make you and Keiichi think that I was flirting with Dagaz back there," said Urd, glancing over at the god next to her, only to notice that he still seemed rather confused.

"We never thought that, to be honest with you."

"Really? But… Why? I was all lovey dovey with him!"

"Well… it's just that…" started Vali, but suddenly stopped as he hesitated to go any further with his explanation.

"Just say it!"

"Promise you won't get mad?" asked the worried cadet as Urd narrowed her eyes at him.

"No and if you don't, then I'll _definitely_ get mad!" snarled the now irate goddess, making Vali edge away from her.

"It's just that… You see, if I have to be frank your acting is horrible. I mean… that was the least convincing performance I've ever seen in my life, actually. There's no way we would've even bought that as a legitimate attempt to flirt with anyone and…" Suddenly, the crackling sound of electricity discharged in the air surrounding the goddess made Vali pause in his admission and realize that he may had done a poor job with the way he worded all that.

"So, I'm a lousy actress? Is that what you're saying, mister ' _I'm totally not interested in your boobies, unless you rub them against another dude?'_ I bet you wouldn't be that much of a critic if that was you I was flirting with!"

"Wait! I never said that!"

"Oh yeah? Let's see how honest you are!" snarled the half goddess as her demonic side felt that her pride had taken such a hit by the disrespectful words of this god that she _absolutely_ had to prove her point; even in the most crude way possible. Opening her top even more than it currently was, the half demoness managed to grab Vali and pulled him close to one of the most tantalizing yet quite uncomfortable examples of what some called the _marshmallow hell_ ; which of course involved a lot of contact between the shocked god's face and her cleavage.

" _Mmph?!_ "

"There! No need to be so jealous anymore!" pressing him even harder against her, Urd could hear the tiny voice at the back of her mind that struggled to calm her down and put an end to this silliness, yet the half goddess was too annoyed to listen and continued with her audacious act as if nothing was wrong.

Meanwhile, the two other residents of the temple were in the middle of enjoying a nice cup of green tea, and used that as an opportunity for some small talk and even try to ease off some of the tension that was caused by Vali's observations about what the blonde god's license; and the indirect accusation that he had no business here.

'Hm… so far he seems like an okay guy. Although, I do have to agree with Vali about his license and all that stuff. But.. hey… maybe it wasn't his fault! After all, Urd's whole situation was caused by some mess up in Heaven's bureaucracy, right? Although… for some reason that makes me feel even worse about everything. What if they make another mistake and blow up the Earth to… I don't know… build a highway or something?'

However, the newcomer had also some reservations of his own about their mortal house mate too. Given that he never got Keiichi's profile, Dagaz had no idea as to what kind of a person this human really was and while he knew that, Urd dated others in the past, his run in with her latest boyfriend had left him with the worst of impressions.

'So far this guy isn't anything like that... pompous, self absorbed jerk of an Earth Spirit. Well, that's good to know at the very least! And besides, Urd has a war god cadet to keep an eye on her, so if he tries to pull anything funny, I know that he deal with him. Although, at the moment Vali wants to deal with _me_ , instead! Great... me and my rotten luck!'

As the two housemates quietly drank their tea, the sudden sound coming from the patio inevitably got their attention and resulted in both of them choking on their drink when they realized that those were the muffled protests of Vali while he was being smothered by Urd.

"I-Is that normal?" asked the wide eyed Dagaz as this was way more titillating than Urd's previous attempt at flirting with him.

"No! I've never seen her do that!" replied Keiichi with a blush, missing the blonde's somewhat disappointed look while he watched at Vali flail his arms in an almost comical manner.

The whole scene was both embarrassing and hilarious at the same time, especially given that Urd's target was the most stoic and reserved of her three housemates and yet he found himself in such an unlikely situation that he had no idea how deal with.

"There! I bet you're feeling much better now!" After what appeared like centuries for the blushing cadet, Urd finally decided to release him from her vice-like grip and let the dazed god recover from his rather surreal experience.

"I… Uh… You… Umm…" stammered Vali, still too shocked to offer a proper response. In all honesty, this was the first time he was experiencing anything like this and no matter how embarrassing, the cadet had to admit that it actually felt _really_ good.

However... in a strange way, Vali wasn't the only one who had some difficulty to come up with something to say. Despite her bold actions, now that she managed to calm down a bit, Urd was having some second thoughts about her decision to tease him like that and worse; the whole incident happened right in front of everyone else. While her intent was to deal with what she assumed was a case of jealousy, there was a fair chance that her actions may had simply made everything way worse. Not only she accomplished very little in terms of making Vali feel any better, but in the process she may had annoyed Keiichi too. 'Great... Now everyone's going to think that I'm far too loose and probably won't want to deal with me anymore. Seriously… that was the worst idea ever!...'

There was a long moment of silence as each of them waited for someone else to say something and as such, they ended up in an awkward deadlock, which only worsened by every passing second. The root of the problem was the fact that males, whether immortal or not, were inherently territorial despite their best intentions and coupled by Urd's rather playful personality, the whole situation was a recipe for disaster. One that actually happened way sooner than anyone had anticipated and in a manner that made the goddess look as the primary cause of this entire mess. It was one thing for the men around her to accept that one of the others tried to attract her attention and a totally different thing to watch her flirt with everyone around her in such a shameless manner. Worse, Urd now worried that with both Keiichi and Vali being rather reserved, such a seemingly promiscuous attitude could definitely have some severe ramifications in the way they treated her, or even make them wish to leave.

Noticing the distress in the goddess' face as she realized her own blunder, Vali felt that he was partially responsible by acting in such a childish manner in the first place. After all, even Keiichi that was the closest one to Urd at this point of time, made an attempt to welcome the newcomer who actually tried his best to please them by offering to cook; something that none of them was particularly good at. Even more, as he was still sitting right next to her, Vali could see tears well up in her eyes and before things deteriorated even further, he decided to make an attempt to lighten up the mood, despite that he wasn't all too familiar with telling jokes.

"Actually, I did find it to be a rather enjoyable experience. My only regret is that I didn't listen to the shop assistant and pick that other bra which exposed a lot more skin."

Given how serious the cadet sounded, everyone did a double take, wondering if it was their imagination running wild or that the blue haired god _did_ actually say all that for real. However, unlike moments ago, this time the silence was almost immediately broken as everyone aside from Vali himself burst into laughter, which greatly helped to diffuse the situation.

"What?" Feigning ignorance, the blue haired god couldn't help but smile a bit as he watched Urd hold her sides while she laughed and even his other two housemates were doing the same; which was a much better outcome than what nearly happened.

'That was a close call… It's my duty to take care of her and while I merely wanted to make sure that there wasn't anything fishy with Dagaz, I ended up making her almost cry in the process. I need to be more careful from now on and perhaps… try to relax a bit.'

XXX

Several hours later during the afternoon, things had settled down quite a bit, with most of the temple's residents trying to relax and forget the whole incident. And since Dagaz was now a member of the household too, the rest of them found it appropriate to include him in their plans for the trip to the hot springs that was scheduled for the upcoming weekend.

With Keiichi tinkering with his beloved BMW, Dagaz trying to show Urd some very simple spells that included levitating objects and Vali performing some training exercises to clear up his mind from the rather... distracting thoughts after his first contact with the fairer of the two sexes, the house was left empty; at least as long as everyone was concerned.

Sitting in front of a Vali's share of the lasagna that he eventually forgot to eat, the possessed cat was more than happy to make sure that they wouldn't go to waste. And considering that everyone else was outside, Tyr found the opportunity to watch TV without worrying that the others would find such a thing to be strange for a cat; well, aside from Vali who was perfectly aware of his true identity.

"Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins, you know."

Groaning as he looked up to find Hild's hovering form, Tyr really wished she would've found something more interesting to do than messing around. It was already bad enough that he had to follow her while she took Belldandy to that… absolutely suspicious place, distracting him long enough for a near disaster to occur here. "Sloth is too."

"Really? I thought I was more along the lines of _lust…_ " said Hild, sticking her tongue at him, much to Tyr's annoyance.

"And after making such a bold proclamation, you still expect me to give my consent for taking my daughter to a trip at a hot springs resort?" asked Tyr in a somewhat intimidating voice that utterly failed to impress the demoness; especially given the body he was currently inhabiting.

"Don't worry about a thing! I'll be gentle with Bell-chan!" said Hild, trying to appear as bashful as possible, making the possessed cat feel even more annoyed than he previously was.

"That's not funny! And… wait! What are you doing?" asked the baffled cat as he stared at the demoness who shifted from her chibi version to the normal, childlike appearance of her avatar and unceremoniously took his food, helping herself with the delicious pasta.

"I'mph giffing iff a tryiph!"

"Don't speak with your mouth full!" yelled the indignant cat, as he tried to grab the plate back, even though his paws proved to be rather inefficient for such a task. "Now, give me that back!"

"Fat chance, fat kitty!" laughed Hild, poking his flabby belly, making it jiggle, much to the god's announce.

"Cut that out! Besides, shouldn't you be doing something else? Like watching out for Urd-chan?" asked Tyr, trying to swat her hand.

"Oh really? Then what about _you_ , mister? I was trying to give some life lessons to your middle daughter and the best you did was to try and spy on us, instead of making sure that Urd-chan was fine!" said Hild as she pointedly poked his belly again.

"How was I supposed to know that she was going to shove Vali's face between her… you know!..." protested the god, but to no avail.

"You dated her mother, right?" said Hild in a sarcastic voice. "Make a wild guess! I still do that all the time, even though the one on the receiving end isn't you, but... your wife!"

"About that…"

"Don't change the subject!"

"I'm not! Poor Ansuz really hates to have that fact rubbed at her face! And quite literally too!"

"Oh? What fact are you talking about?" asked the grinning Daimakaicho, feigning ignorance.

"Stop acting as if you don't know!"

"No, do tell! I insist!"

"For goodness shake! After making fun of her... not so… large bosom, I'd think that you'd connect the dots, already!" said Tyr, narrowing his eyes at the demoness who still pretended that she didn't get it.

"Really? I've done that to other demonesses and even a few goddesses and they never got that sore about it, as to complain outright…"

"That's because most of them aren't as flat as a floor board!" said the frustrated god, before he paused and realized the trap he had inadvertently fallen into. "Oh… no!..."

"Hell, yeah! Good luck explaining _that_ to your sweetheart, you insensitive, jealous cat!" laughed, Hild as she finished her, or rather his meal and even licked the plate clean just to add insult to injury.

" _You framed me!_ "

"Serves you right, mister! Next time you do a poor job at taking care of Urd-chan, I'll do worse!" said Hild with a sadistic gleam in her eyes, causing her ex to take a few steps back. "What? You think I'm all fun and games? That's the Daimakaicho you're dealing with, here!"

"She… she might not be listening in to…" started the petrified god, before the demoness interrupted him.

"Sorry, but as soon as I've told her that I'll be staying here for longer, there's no way she's not currently watching what's going on here."

Turning back to her chibi sized form, Hild offered the horrified god a wink as she disappeared back to the attic thought a loose floor panel, leaving him to alone and absolutely terrified.

'I'm done for..."

XXX

 _Daitenkaicho's office, Asgard_

Looking up from his paperwork, Tyr felt a sense of dread as he knew what was coming and the sudden knock on his office's door left him with little doubt as to who wanted to see him without any appointment.

"Enter."

Swinging the double doors open, Ansuz marched up to her husband's desk with an almost unreadable expression on her face; which troubled Tyr more than anything else. He could handle an angry outburst or some other more predictable response, but right now, he had no idea what his wife was thinking.

"Well… I think _someone's_ enjoying their vacation…" Tapping her foot on the floor, Ansuz crossed her arms as she glared at Tyr, who desperately tried to hide his nervousness behind a calm facade. "Up until now, I was under the impression that you were trying to help Urd-chan. Care to explain how exactly your… actions are doing doing her any favors?"

"What do you mean by that?" In all honesty, Tyr was somewhat taken aback by the goddess' words as this was definitely not the reaction he had been expecting.

"So far, you've done nothing other than watch her from the sidelines, and now that Hild's there, you all but forgot about the real problem," said Ansuz with a sigh. "Urd-chan has lost her memories and just staring at her won't change anything at all. Not to mention anything about running after Hild or even Bell-chan for no reason at all."

"I'm really sorry about that. I'll… have to admit that I've been rather distracted ever since she showed up and…"

"Look, I don't want to sound like a jealous wife who's angry that her husband met his ex. However, the longer we procrastinate while she's struggling to figure out what's going on, the worse it's going to be. For starters, it wouldn't be a surprise if wonder why her family doesn't seem to try and contact her while she's in such a state."

"I fully aware of that, and the very reason why I've accepted captain Lind's suggestion to send someone she had met in the past, but at the same time she's not terribly familiar with him. Obviously, her sisters would've been ideal, although pushing her that hard to remember could have some adverse side effects; even if it proves to be effective."

"That's true, but…"

"Uh… sorry, the door was open and…"

Stopping abruptly, Ansuz turned around only to find the youngest of her daughters standing by the doorframe with an uncertain look on her face, while she wondered if she picked a wrong moment.

"Please, come inside Skuld, there's no need to stand over there like that," said Tyr as he cleared his throat, while his wife stepped to the side of his desk, curious to see what the little Norn wanted to talk to her father about.

"Thank you, my lord," said Skuld as she offered him a deep bow and walked towards him, holding a folder that she carefully placed on her father's desk.

Picking it up, the Daitenkaicho instantly realized what she was here to report the findings of her investigation and decided to read the details later, turning his attention to Skuld in order to hear her personal opinion first. "There are no need for such formalities right now. So, why don't you tell me what you discovered about Urd's condition?"

"Well… me and Peorth searched all over the subsystems to find out what triggered that response from the protector server, and by the looks of it… we're most certainly dealing with a one of our security routines responding to what seemed like an outside program attempting to access Urd's files," said Skuld with a frown.

"When you're saying an outside program…" started Ansuz, as her eyes narrowed a bit, "you mean a demonic one, right?"

"Yes. It's strange, since the source seemed to be Nidhogg itself, which… doesn't seem like a regular attempt to hack into our system. After all, that's absolutely forbidden and I can't think how any demon would've thought it was great idea to use his own work terminal to try and pull something like that," explained Skuld, scratching her chin, as she tried to think if she had somehow overlooked something important here.

"Yes, we're not allowed to hack into each other's systems and given how severe the punishment for such a thing is, I find it hard to believe that anyone was foolish enough to try it while being _this_ careless," admitted Tyr before he paused and turned to his wife. "Any ideas, Ansuz?"

"Not really. I'll have to agree with both of you that such an attempt would've been rather foolish. Unless… we're talking about an officially sanctioned program that's allowed to interact with our systems. Although, if that's the case, I fail to see how it could be possible to act like that. After all, we scrutinize all such programs to make sure that the demons hadn't snuck any kind of malware in there."

"Hm…" Thinking about it for a while, Tyr suddenly remembered a rather obscure but crucial detail about his first born daughter; one that might've caused the demonic mainframe to try and update her files. "Skuld, did that program try to access her licence certificates by any chance?"

"Yes! That's exactly what it did!" said the little goddess with surprise evident in her face.

Letting a tired sigh, Tyr rubbed his temples as he really wished that this was some kind of an internal problem that was caused by a glitch somewhere in Yggdrasil. However, with the likely involvement of the demons, things got really complicated all of a sudden, making him realize that they were far from finding an actual solution to their problem. "Alright then! First of all, I want you to trace that security routine and prevent it from interacting with the protector server. If it can cause amnesia, I think it's too dangerous to be triggered like that, so, that's our first priority. Then, I need an exact copy of all the logfiles that implicate the demons, since we need proof of their involvement before we throw any accusations around. Once done, let me know that we're ready to make our next move. That's all for now Skuld."

"Yes, father! I'll start working on all that with Peorth, right away!" said the little goddess, before she turned and rushed to carry out her new orders.

"You don't think that it has to do with Urd-chan's demonic license, do you?" asked Ansuz as soon as their daughter was out of the room.

"I fear that this is exactly the case, to be honest with you," said the frowning leader of the gods.

When immortals are born, it's mandatory for their parents to register them and in that process, they acquire their first license; albeit a very simple one at that. However, what appeared to be a mere routine for most, proved to be a big legal challenge in Urd's case as the infant hybrid was appearing as a goddess in both systems, despite her rather obvious demonic heritage that made up the other half of her being. Still, that did little to solve the problem Hild faced when she tried to register her daughter: it was impossible for her to legally offer her own child a goddess' license and Asgard couldn't do the same without listing her as a celestial citizen. Considering that such a development would've required Hild to send Urd to her father almost immediately, the Daimakaicho desperately searched for a different solution and that turned out to be a rather controversial move. Since the infant hybrid was halfway a demoness, she got registered as one, too, despite the fact that her goddess side seemed to be the dominant one. Of course, as soon as the Daimakaicho sent her daughter to Asgard, Urd's demonic license was revoked, to avoid a case of a double registration, as that would've caused a whole lot problems on its own too.

"But… that requires a rather high ranking demon or demoness to authorize the reactivation of a revoked license. You don't think that… Hild is behind this?"

"She may be crafty and manipulative whenever the need arises, however, I doubt that it's her style to pull such a move at this point of of time. Even if she came to regret her decision to let Urd come here, it's just not like her to try and force Urd return after all this time."

"Are you sure about that, Tyr?"

"Absolutely and beyond any doubt. You can say a lot about Hild, but when it comes to Urd, she won't put her own desires over her daughter's."

"In that case, we'll have to search for the culprit elsewhere. And speaking of that, I think it's the best if I go back to work and even give Skuld-chan a hand," said Ansuz as she smiled a bit, and headed for the door, pausing for a moment before she walked out of the office. "Oh, and before I forget!"

"Yes? What it is?"

"Tonight you're sleeping on the couch!"

'Well… it could've been worse, I guess. However, for a good measure I should buy her a present, just in case.' Offering a nod as he tried not to wince, the god lowered his head in defeat as his wife hadn't apparently forgiven him for his comment about her figure.

'Still… I need to talk to Hild about this whole mess. Even though any official actions will require us more time to collect the evidence, I think it's for the best to warn her, so that she's going to take the appropriate actions, too. After all, I refuse to accept that this is her work.'

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

I would also like to thank ObeliskX for the initial suggestion for a reverse harem setting that led to this story.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

Originally, I wanted to include the trip to the hot springs in this chapter, but I've felt that it would've been a bad idea to rush Dagaz's introduction to the rest of the main characters. So, I did paid more attention to that, as well as the reactions it caused to the rest of Urd's housemates.

Technically speaking, I don't plan to change the overall tone from the lighthearted comedy I'm currently going for, but I've thought that acknowledging the issues that might arise from a situation like this.

So, it's safe to assume that the next chapter will mostly focus on the hot springs visit, which will be the first time all four of the temple's main residents (I'm not counting Tyr and Hild who are there in incognito) are going to do something together.


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

* * *

"I hate buses…"

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Urd's initial enthusiasm was slowly waning out as the long, boring road trip was starting to get on her nerves; most definitely due to the very means of transportation she and her housemates were supposed to use. Given that the organizers of the lottery tried to conserve as much money as possible, the tickets they handed them corresponded to the cheapest method of transportation possible; which was basically a regular bus instead of hiring a much more comfortable mini bus just for them.

That inevitably meant that, Urd, Keiichi, Vali and the newcomer, Dagaz were amidst a group of elderly people who also wanted to visit the hot springs resort, as the warm mineral water did miracles with arthritis. And if it wasn't just the fact that the bus was packed with people, the old ladies sitting behind the goddess were really getting on her nerves as not only they kept gossiping about the exotic looking foreigner, but their poor hearing meant that they were actually quite loud too.

"Oh my… women these days wear such audacious clothes! Look at her skirt! It barely hides her panties!"

"Her husband must be really worried! He looks so uncomfortable!"

Groaning, Urd rolled her eyes, as she glanced at Keiichi who was sitting right next to her and he too could hear the old coots go on and on about one thing or the other. However, the biggest problem was neither her stylistic choices nor the false assumption that he was married to her, but, their previous topic of discussion: how a seemingly short and unimpressive man like him managed to marry such an attractive lady. Or why he didn't take her to their destination by car, like any good salary man would, as it appeared to them that money was the only reason behind this unusual couple.

"Those hags are starting to get on my nerves!..."

"Please try to ignore them, Urd," whispered Keiichi, even though it was unnecessary to do so, given the most of the other passengers' poor hearing. "It's just nonsense anyway…"

"You got that right! If I knew this was going to be so annoying, we would've gone there on your bike!"

"But… what about Vali and Dagaz?" asked Keiichi, looking over his shoulder at the two gods who sat much further back in the bus.

"They can shrink down and fit in the sidecar with me, or even teleport straight to our destination."

"I see. Although, to be fair… you were the only one who looked forward for the bus trip," said Keiichi with some hesitation, worrying that he may had offended her.

"Hey, it's not my fault! I was expecting something a lot… better than this. And for the record, you and Dagaz didn't seem to mind it too much, either, mister," said Urd as she leaned a bit closer to Keiichi, making him blush. "After all, I did put something really nice on, didn't I?"

"W-Well…" Struggling not to stare at her, Keiichi had to admit that despite how simple her outfit appeared to be, the pearl white blouse with the matching skirt she had closen, really hugged her body in all the right places.

"You're blushing!" giggled Urd as she got even closer to him, making the dark haired mechanic even more self conscious about the stares they were getting from the other passengers.

"I can't help it! You're too close!" said Keiichi, staring at the goddess' lips in an effort to keep his eyes from wandering lower, at Urd's ample bosom almost brushed against his arm.

"And? Is there a problem with that, Keiichi?" Leaning even closer to him, the half goddess momentarily wondered if she should go for it and give him a kiss but the sudden flash from outside made her blink. "Huh? Did you see that?"

"See what?" asked Keiichi, trying to follow her gaze.

"For a moment I think I saw something zoom by the road in the distance!"

"Are you sure it wasn't a bird or something?"

"Yes. Unless birds use brooms… Or at least, something that looked like one." Scratching her head, the goddess couldn't but wonder if that was a mirage. 'Hm… perhaps I just imaged it? Although… I kind of recall hearing something like that from Dagaz, but… I kind of wasn't paying too much attention at the lesson. Maybe I should ask him later?'

Meanwhile, at the back of the bus, Dagaz was biting the sickness bag he was holding, looking over at Urd and Keiichi a few rows ahead of them.

"Will you stop that? Not only It's not edible, but you seem silly while doing that," said Vali from the seat next to him.

"But… I like to bite at something when I'm nervous and I just found this conveniently available bag!" said Dagaz as he kept munching at the aforementioned item. "Besides, it's not fair! Why am I sitting here with you?"

"Because we lost? Or have you forgotten the game of… what was it called again? Pocket?"

"Poker." Grumbling, the blonde god wasn't terribly pleased with the outcome of Urd's brilliant idea to decide who was going to sit next to her. All they had to do was play some kind of card game with Urd acting as the dealer, and they lost to Keiichi; pretty badly too. "I still find it suspicious that we lost like that!"

"Maybe. Although, there's not much we can do right now," said Vali with a groan. Ever since yesterday the blonde god kept nagging at how unfair that game was and even tried to challenge them again in a rematch.

"Why not? I've found a few nice alternatives to that… nonsensical game! Here, take a look at this!" said Dagaz, holding up a deck of cards.

"That's… a children's game, actually," said Vali raising an eyebrow while he inspected the depictions on the cards.

"So what? It has a strategy to it and I even pulled an all nighter to learn how to play, so that I can challenge you guys to a duel!"

"If you want a duel that badly, I can get you a trainee's battle axe and then we can have a real one," said Vali with an almost uncharacteristic smirk that caused Dagaz to swallow nervously.

" _I'm a pacifist!_ " said the blonde god, before he desperately tried to change the subject, retrieving a leaflet he was carrying with him. "Actually there's a tourist's guide for the town we're visiting. Want to take a look?

"Sure, why not? It's not like I've got anything better to do right now."

XXX

"Finally! We're here, but… _What the Hell is this?!_ "

Staring at the note outside the hot springs resort, Urd could hardly contain her anger as the much anticipated trip was getting from bad to worse. First they had to deal with the annoying passengers of the bus, and now… it seems that all that was for nothing.

' _Due to maintenance, the resort is closed until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience this may had caused you.'_

"Who… who's in charge of this… dump!"

"Relax, Urd!" tried Keiichi, worrying that the goddess' anger would escalate to the point of demolishing the place with a spell, and this time it would be rather… problematic, given the number of eyewitnesses. "Maybe we should've called first and check whether…"

"That would've been pointless," said Vali, interrupting him as he also seemed a bit miffed by this development. "Our prize specifically required us to arrive here today and the more I think about it, the more I realize that it might'd been a scam. Since this looks like scheduled maintenance, it's unlikely that the organizers of that competition didn't knew about it; and even if they did, just contacting the resort should've provided them with that information. To me, this feels like an attempt to save money."

"You mean… because we can't charge them anything as long as it's closed?" asked Keiichi as he started to see what the blue haired god was getting at.

"Yes. The idea was that most of the basic expenses for this trip would've been covered by marketplace's officials, but… as long as the resort is closed... all they've actually paid are our bus tickets," explained Vali while Urd seethed in rage.

"What a bunch of… Then we came all the way here for nothing?"

"Well, technically speaking, there are a few more options," tried Dagaz in an effort to appease her. "If I recall correctly from this guide, there are a few more establishments that take advantage of the geothermal…"

Not bothering to listen to the rest of the god's explanation, Urd grabbed the leaflet from his hands and started to seek for an alternative. "This one! It's not far and the ratings are the best!"

"Whoa! Hold on a second, Urd!" said Keiichi as he took a look at the onsen she was talking about. "This is a really expensive one! How are we going to even pay for that? Only two of us have a job and even then…Well… you know."

"Um… you've got a point there," said Urd after a few moments of staying quiet while staring at the two gods that started to get slightly unnerved by her gaze. "We've got two underpaid employees and two freeloaders here."

Wincing at the half goddess' caustic words, the gods lowered their heads in shame, while trying to come up with some sort of solution on their own to prove themselves to her. And while Dagaz had a tough time to find an alternative, Vali came up with a decent idea, although he really hated asking for favors.

"Is this absolutely necessary? I mean, do you _really_ want this?" asked the blue haired god, making everyone stare at him; especially given how deadly serious he sounded.

"Uh… yes?" said the unsure half goddess, worrying that she may had gone a bit too far and sounded like a spoiled brat asking her parents for a new toy.

"Wait here." Heading towards a payphone in the distance, the blue haired god left the three remaining members of his group wonder about this unexpected development; all sharing the same question.

"Um… what did just happen?"

XXX

"It is I."

"My apologies for calling you for such a petty reason, my lord but… I wish to ask for a favor," said the war god cadet, wondering if this was even a good idea. He may had been on a mission assigned to him by the Daitenkaicho himself but that still didn't mean that he was someone special enough to make such requests.

"Oh? And what that may be?" asked Tyr, despite he had actually been monitoring them ever since they departed on that trip and knew all too well what the problem was.

"I need the means to cover the expenses for a visit to a local hot springs resort. As such, I request the permission for currency acquisition."

"Hm… I see." Struggling not to laugh at how nervous the boy sounded all of a sudden, Tyr decided to do it, even though it wasn't something important. After all, it wasn't every day someone tried to help his daughter get what she wanted and besides… with Hild in the general vicinity, there was a realistic chance that she could try to offer her assistance; and probably cause a lot of commotion in the process. "Very well, but only on this occasion."

"T-thank you, my lord," said Vali, although he was somewhat shocked that his request was accepted so easily.

"Oh, and don't be too stingy. Try to get something nice for the others too; within reason of course."

"Of course, my lord!"

"And perhaps a second TV for the house too? Although an AC could be nice to have as well, and… Oh! While you're at it, get a dishwasher! Urd's going to absolutely _love_ it!"

"Uh… my lord?" asked Vali as he stared at the receiver, not really expecting the whole list of requests, Tyr had come up with. "Is that truly _within reason?..._ "

"Who do you think decides that?" shot the Daitenkaicho back at the baffled god who could only agree with his leader.

"Good point. Is there something else I should get while we're at it?"

"Hm… a microwave could always come in handy, and there are automated rice cookers, so get one too."

"What about a coffee maker?"

"Only if you get an espresso machine, too. I need something stronger to wake me up in the morning."

"Understood. Anything else, my lord?"

"No, I think that's sufficient for now," said Tyr before he cleared his throat. "And for the record, this whole conversation never took place. Am I understood?"

"Perfectly, my lord."

"Good. Then I consider this matter resolved. Now go ahead and get the resources you need, before the day is over. After all, you still have to visit those hot springs."

"Of course! Thank you, my lord!"

Hanging up the headset, Vali couldn't help but feel happy that not only he got them out of this pinch, but he also made their lives easier in the long run.

'But first things first… Let's tell them the good news.'

XXX

"Yes! Now we're talking about! This is how it's supposed to be!"

Entering the much more lavishly decorated building, the group had to pause and marvel at the sight of their surroundings. While most hot spring resorts tried to maintain some of the trademark elements of traditional Japanese architecture, this one was far more successful at doing a decent job at that, instead of a poor, halfhearted attempt. Indeed, it almost felt as if they had gone back in time, and even the workers here were dressed in old fashioned clothes from a few centuries ago.

"Greetings dear customers. Do you have a reservation?" asked a young woman in a stylish kimono as she offered the group a polite bow.

"Not really I'm afraid," replied Vali. "We were hoping that you aren't fully booked for today."

"Oh, that's perfectly fine, we certainly have enough free pools right now. Actually, for an extra fee you can rent one just for yourselves, eliminating the possibility of having to share one with other customers. Additionally I'll have to inform you that we also have tubs better suited for couples."

" _The pool please!_ " said Dagaz with an almost pleading look on his face. "With my rotten luck I'm gonna get stuck with one of those dudes in there and that's just… not fair!"

"Very well, if you wish, I can show you the way," offered the employee, while the rest of them tried not to laugh at Dagaz's indirect admission that he wanted to bathe together with Urd, something that the half goddess found rather amusing and wondered what she could do about it.

However, as funny as Keiichi found the blonde's reaction, his smile turned into a frown as he suddenly realized that they were as a matter of fact going to use a single pool; with all the implications behind that. While he had been on public baths on numerous occasions before, this was the first time he was going to experience that with a woman present and more specifically; with Urd. Given how notorious she was when it came to teasing those around her, Keiichi worried that this whole situation was simply too spicy for her not to try and pull a prank on them.

Indeed, the moment he and the others stepped in the changing room of the pool, he couldn't help but wonder how they were going to deal with this whole situation. "Um… shouldn't we change into some towels before we get into the water?"

"I think that's the advised course of action given the fact that we've got Urd here," said Vali, before he was interrupted by the half goddess in question.

"Aw... come on! It's so much better without a damp cloth wrapped around our bodies!"

"I second that!" added an excited Dagaz, much to the two others' annoyance.

"Perverts…" muttered Vali, while Keiichi simply scratched his head nervously.

"I personally think that the towels would be the best option," said Keiichi in a desperate attempt to avoid any embarrassing incidents.

Staring at each other as the two opposing parties had reached a standstill, Urd decided to try her favorite method of solving such problems. "Hey, since it's a tie, how about we flip a coin or something?"

Sharing a look, both Keiichi and the blue haired god felt that they were probably stepping into a trap and as such, the cadet decided to make sure that if they the other two wouldn't try to cheat. "Alright, but only if Keiichi flips the coin and _nobody_ used any magic to affect it."

"Deal! I pick heads!" said Urd with a cheerful grin, while the dark haired mortal reached for his wallet to get a coin.

Tossing it up, everyone gathered around him with a hopeful look on their faces. "And the result is… tails!"

"Aw…" lowering their heads in defeat, Urd and Dagaz walked towards the shelves where a few towels were stored for the customers to use, while Vali and Keiichi followed after them with a content smile on their faces; thinking that after this, those two were going to behave.

Little did they know how wrong they were going to be proven.

XXX

"Ah... it's so relaxing! Right, Bell-chan?"

Leaning against the brunette goddess, Hild's childlike avatar enjoyed the hot water of the tub they had requested in order to have a more private setting, as they both wished to keep a certain distance from Urd's group.

"Indeed. I must admit that this is even better than I had originally expected, even if we ended up in a different onsen."

"That couldn't be helped, although, I'm rather happy to see your father trying to relax a bit for once and allow Urd to have some fun. Perhaps he's starting to realize that there's more to life than rules and regulations..." said Hild with a giggle. "Although, I'm also impressed that it was Vali's idea to begin with. Considering his personality, I never thought he'd actually go for this kind of solution."

"Yes. It seems that, neesan is surrounded by good people."

"Hm… no comments about _daddy_ , huh?" asked Hild with a wink, looking up at the goddess as she sat on her lap. "It seems that you're nowhere as naive as some try to make you look like."

Remaining quiet, Belldandy gazed towards the direction of the pool where Urd and the rest of her group currently was, frowning a bit. "Is it really alright to avoid her like this? I may know the reasons behind that decision, but still… It feels wrong to hide from my sister. Shouldn't we try to tell her more about her past? Or at the very least, meet her without revealing much about my relation to her?"

"In due time, Bell-chan don't rush things too much. But… yes, that could work as soon as she starts to remember a bit more," said HIld before she smiled and then added in a much more teasing voice. "Although… could it be that there are other reasons you're eager to go and meet her?"

"Um… like what?" asked Belldandy, tilting her head as she didn't quite get what the Daimakaicho was hinting at.

"I dunno… maybe introducing yourself to her housemates? They're not bad looking after all, and she probably won't date all of them, so… how about getting one for yourself too?"

"Eh?! I… I… wouldn't do that!"

"And that's because?"

"It feels like… I don't know… Stealing?" said Belldandy with some concern in her voice.

"You might be correct, depending on how you approach the whole subject. Although, you have met Lind's boy, so, why not trying to get to know him even better?" said Hild with a wink, making the brunette blush.

" _Urd?! What do you think you're doing?!_ "

Blinking, both of them shared a look before they turned towards the direction of the half goddess' group.

"Hey, that sounded like Keiichi-kun. I wonder what kind of naughty things Urd-chan tried to do to him?" said Hild, while Belldandy's blush deepened.

"I really hope not. After all, starting a commotion in such a place could draw a lot more attention than needed," said the goddess of the present as she tried to calm herself down.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," said Hild with a huge grin. "Let's spy on them!"

" _Eh?!_ B-But… that sounds wrong and…"

"No complains! It's no fun to just sit here without knowing what's going on. Especially if something spicy is happening right now!" said Hild, changing into her tiny, chibi form and then forced her companion to a similarly sized version, despite the latter's protests.

"But…"

Letting out a sigh, Hild decided that arguing with her was pretty much pointless and as such, she more or less dragged the reluctant goddess along.

"Sheesh!... Stop being such a big baby! That's why I need to show you how to have fun…"

"But… Peeping on others isn't right!" insisted the brunette goddess, stubbornly refusing to let go of the tub's edge while Hild tried to make her let go.

"We're just making sure that Urd-chan is alright, so that's more than enough to justify such measure! She's got a tendency of being too aggressive at times and as a result she could end up doing something stupid. Now, stop fighting back and come with me! You don't want anything bad to happen, right?"

"O-Okay. I-I… I'll come along."

"Excellent! Now let go of the tub."

XXX

"What do you mean, Keiichi? I've done nothing wrong."

Standing by the pool's edge, Urd raised an eyebrow at the blushing mortal who along with the two gods had just finished scrubbing and entered the water.

"You're not wearing a towel around your…"

"Excuse me, but what do you call _this?_ " said Urd, pointing at her waist. "I believe that's the same thing you're wearing as well, right?"

"Yes, although… me and the others are men, so we don't have to cover our chests, Urd!" said Keiichi, trying not to stare at her exposed top while an embarrassed Vali glared at Dagaz who was more or less drooling at the sight.

"Oh, really? That sounds so sexist in my opinion! Just because I'm a goddess doesn't mean that I'll have to wrap that huge towel around me. This should be more than enough, and yet you're still complaining," said Urd, tossing her hair over her shoulder, which actually made matters even worse, as it eliminated the last means of provided herself with some cover.

"But… We can see your… I mean… it's not the same with us and…" tried Keiichi in vain as the half goddess showed no signs of getting convinced by his attempts to reason with her.

"How about a small towel? Just enough to cover your chest?" suggested Vali in an effort to find an acceptable compromise.

"Well… I suppose I could live with that," said Urd, deciding that it was for the best to stop this debate before it turned into a heated argument and ruined everyone's mood. Looking over her shoulder she spotted the shelf where the towels were stored and was just about to head there to retrieve one until an idea struck her mind. As a goddess she felt like trying to give her powers a chance and hovering a towel towards her; a truly trivial thing for any adult celestial and after some training with Dagaz she wanted to show the rest of them the fruits of her labor. "Aright! Now come here!"

Snapping her fingers, Urd smiled when a towel started to fly towards her, and a quick glance at her housemates confirmed that they were somewhat impressed with her ability to control her powers so soon after her lessons had started. Keiichi in particular was gawking at what in reality was a trivial thing for any goddess, yet didn't prevent Urd from getting really excited to see his awestruck expression, as it made her accomplishment feel even more important than it actually was.

Unfortunately once her mind became preoccupied with other thoughts instead of what she was supposed to be doing, the half goddess' control over her powers started to slip and her sheer excitement caused a huge spike. As a result, all the towels in Urd's vicinity shot up in the air and flew towards her, covering every inch of her body as if she was some kind of magnet for them.

" _What the?!..._ "

Despite her surprise, Urd couldn't help but giggle at how silly this whole scene was, leaving her covered from head to toe like a mummy. Taking off the towels that ended up on her head, the half goddess turned to the others and was about to make a joke until she realized that her spell had affected not only the towels stored on the shelf, but also the ones her three housemates were wearing. And given how surprised everyone was, that gave the goddess the perfect opportunity to get a very nice glimpse of their entire bodies, as the trio seemed to be frozen in place with a fierce blush on their faces; unlike Urd who was actually licking her lips.

"Well, well… Aren't you boys _happy_ to see me or what?"

Letting a startled yelp, two of them lowered themselves into the pool to get some cover, while the last one simply fell face first into the water. The most interesting fact however was that the one who did that wasn't the shyest of them all, but the one who appeared to be quite the opposite.

"Why did _he_ faint?" asked Vali, looking over to the unconscious Dagaz as he floated on the water.

"Maybe, it was over stimulation?" suggested Keiichi while he tried to calm down a bit, since his elevated heart rate made him feel light on the head. "Although… shouldn't we get him out of there? He could drown if he's left like that!"

"Keiichi, gods or any immortal for that part, cannot drown in water. We don't even need to breathe, although it's necessary if we want to talk. Unless… we use telepathy of course," explained Vali in a calm tone, unlike Keiichi who seemed to be somewhat concerned about their blonde friend.

"But…"

"He's right about that, Keiichi. I may not remember much, but even I know that much by now," said Urd once she got rid of all the towels that had gotten stuck on her and approached the pool. However, as the bronze skinned goddess was about to enter the water, she noticed the incredulous look on their faces and this time even Vali was blushing; all while Keiichi was now about to faint too. "Hey, what's wrong, now?"

"I think that along those towels, you've also taken off yours too," said the blue haired god, as the dark haired mortal nodded in agreement.

"Huh?" Looking down, Urd found that the god was right and she was indeed standing there totally naked, but unlike the boys, the goddess decided that panicking about it didn't seem like her. Instead, she calmly got into the pool and lowered herself into the water, acting as if it wasn't that much of a big deal at all. "Well, at the very least… you can now say for certain that the drapes match the carpet. And besides, it's only fair that you got to see me, when I got the chance to do the same, so, relax a bit."

"That's actually easier said than done. I feel I'm about to have a nosebleed," said young mechanic after a long pause as he struggled to calm down enough for his brain to start working again.

"Keiichi, that only happens in manga and anime! In real life most of the blood goes in the totally opposite end of your body, instead of gathering on your head," laughed Urd, much to the mortal's chagrin. "And by the way… that almost sounded as if you really liked what you saw. Hm… maybe you're not as shy as I've originally thought after all. In that case, how about bathing like this from now on?"

"No! That's not really nece-..."

Before had the chance to finish, the sound of a splash from an adjacent pool caught his attention. "Hey, did you hear that?"

"Yes, although I wouldn't worry too much about it," said Urd with a shrug. "Some kids like to jump into the pools, even if we're not supposed to do that in a place like this."

"Hm… probably. Anyway… shouldn't we try to wake Dagaz up?" asked Keiichi, glancing over at the still unconscious god.

"I think you're right. We can't just let him stay like that forever," said Urd, as a smirk formed on her face. "So let me…"

" _No!_ " said both Keiichi and Vali, moving to get to him before she got the chance to pull off whatever she had in mind. "We've got this!"

"Hey, I've got no wasabi this time!"

"That's what makes it even worse! We've got no idea what you're up to!" said Keiichi, standing between the goddess and the unconscious blonde while Vali tried to wake him up.

"Aw… you're no fun at all…" pouted the Norn of the past, before a wicked idea crossed her mind and stood up, causing most of her body to be above the water's level. "I just wanted to help, but if you insist I can still go and get a something for us to drink while we're here. Do you want anything, Keiichi?"

"N-No! I-I'm fine!" stammered the embarrassed mechanic, averting his gaze to avoid staring at her for too long; which of course allowed her to try and walk around him.

Unfortunately for Urd, while she was close to Keiichi, she accidentally stumbled on his foot and ended up falling right on top of him with a loud splash.

" _Whoa! What the?!..._ "

Turning to them, Vali and Dagaz who just managed to get back to his senses, found that the half goddess had somehow managed to make Keiichi faint this time, as the sensation of having her ample bosom pressed against his face had proven to be too much for the poor guy.

"Um… oops?"

"Don't just stand there like that! Get him out of the water before he drowns!" said Vali with a frustrated sigh.

"Seriously!…"

XXX

"Bell-chan? Can you hear me?"

Fanning the unresponsive goddess she retrieved from the pool where she had fallen into when the whole situation turned a bit too spicy, Hild began to wonder if she could even manage to keep her around for the duration of this whole visit.

"I… I'm okay," said the dazed goddess of the present, as she struggled to sit up from the mat the little Daimakaicho had placed her on.

"Sorry about that. I haven't noticed that you've zoned out until you've actually fallen in the water," said Hild while she scratched her head.

"No, it's fine actually. I'm the one who overreacted, even though I should be old enough to… deal with that kind of situations," said Belldandy with a tiny blush on her face.

"Speaking of that…" said Hild with a grin, as she leaning closer to the brunette goddess. "Did you like the show?"

" _Eh?!_ "

"Stop acting like a little kid, Bell-chan. There's nothing wrong to admit that you enjoyed what you saw," purred Hild much to the Norn's embarrassment. "I'm just curious as to who was more to your liking. So, come on, fess up already!"

"N-Neesan…"

"Whoa! Hold on a sec there!" said the stunned demoness who wasn't waiting that kind of response at all. "I've got no problem if you like girls, but… Urd-chan?"

" _No!_ What I wanted to say was that, neesan wouldn't appreciate if I checked on them like that," said Belldandy with some hesitation.

"It's not like she can keep all of them. Then again… it wouldn't be unlike Urd-chan to try and do just that," said Hild as she scratched her chin in thought. "Anyway, that's not really important right now. Instead, I've got an idea you're going to like!"

"Um… does that involve nudity?"

"No, unless you want to show us what your mama gave you. We're in a hot springs after all, so don't be this shy dear! After all, you've got such a nice backside!"

Shaking her head vigorously Belldandy didn't trust herself to offer an answer to that, although she did try to look behind her out of sheer curiosity; much to Hild's amusement.

"It's not big, if that's what you're worried about; just… curvaceous. However, how about we try to focus a bit more on what we can do while we're here? Like I said I've got an idea that could allow us to meet Urd-chan without her realizing who we are," said Hild with a wink. "We can use a disguise and pretend to be here for the hot springs too. After all, there are other customers around, right?"

"I… I'd like that!" said Belldandy with an excited smile. "Although, is the disguise good enough to prevent them from seeing through it?"

"Have you forgotten who you're talking to?" countered Hild, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I'm the Daimakaicho! Such a spell is pretty trivial for one of my position!"

"Then I'd love to do that!"

"I knew you'd like that idea. Now, let's get started!"

XXX

"Hey… are you _absolutely sure_ that you've never played this game?"

Visiting a hot springs resort wasn't just about taking a soak in the pools filled with hot mineral water. Instead, that also included a lot more activities which were often considered as part of the whole experience and for Urd, making the best of their time here was a matter of utmost importance. There was no guarantee as to when they could afford to come here again and as such, she wanted to try everything that was available for her entertainment; from tabletop tennis and arcade games to singing karaoke.

However the inconsiderate blue haired god on the other end of the table was currently ruining everything for her; especially with that winning streak of his.

"I'm fairly positive that I've never done anything like this before," said Vali after a few moments of hesitation, given the glare he was receiving from the half goddess.

"Give me a break! You're telling me that a total amateur is making me look so bad?" asked the irate goddess. "I haven't scored a _single_ point yet!"

"Amateur or not, thanks to my combat training, I've got much better reflexes and eye to hand coordination. Which is rather essential skill for a game like this," explained Vali, despite the sparks of static discharging around Urd's body.

Sensing an imminent disaster if things didn't change, Keiichi decided to step in and interrupt their conversation before Urd reached her limit. "Actually, we've been here for a while, so why don't we go drink some tea and then try something else? Like… um… karaoke for example!"

Despite that it was more than obvious that the dark haired mechanic was trying to diffuse the situation, Urd decided that it was about time she admitted defeat. Wasting too much time in the ping pong room was far from ideal and while they had booked a room for the night, it was already afternoon; leaving them with a few hours until they'd have to call it a day. "Fine! Although to be honest with you, I'd rather have some sake, instead of tea."

"Oh, that's not a problem, Urd. We still have that sake we've bought from Nekomi."

"Actually, since _Mr. Ping Pong Champion_ is paying, we can save our sake and try what they serve here," said Urd with a big grin, while Vali let out a sigh.

'Like mother, like daughter… I should've let her win at least once…' Shaking his head, the blue haired god glanced over at Dagaz who had been surprisingly quiet for a while, and realized that the blonde was looking at two voluptuous redheads in the far corner of the room. 'Why am I not surprised?'

It was actually rare to see women that had proportions comparable to Urd's and even similar style of clothes that displayed their curves. Although the taller one of them seemed to be rather uncomfortable as she tried to tug her mini skirt lower, in a desperate attempt to cover a bit more skin; despite her companion's indifference.

"Hi there!" said the shorter of the two women, as she approached the group, attracting Urd and Keiichi's attention, since neither of them had noticed them.

"Huh? Oh, hello," said the half goddess as she turned to see the two redheads walk towards them. Dressed in almost identical outfits that consisted of a red mini skirt and black sleeveless top with a low neckline, they were a sight that made Urd feel rather peeved; even if she wasn't sure as to why.

"Pleased to meet you! I'm Hilda, and the one who's trying to pull her skirt down is me sister, Bella. Don't mind her by the way, she's a bit too awkward when talking to strangers and on top of that, I may have picked something a bit too bold for us to wear," said the disguised demoness as she came to a stop before her daughter, while searching for any signs of suspicion. After all, the disguise spell she had put on herself and Belldandy not only altered their appearances, but also concealed their energy signatures as well as their facial markings in order to make everyone think that they were mere humans. Still, it never hurt to make sure that the half goddess didn't see through the spell and Urd's lack of any sign of recognition reassured her that this plan was working.

As a matter of fact, everyone saw Hild's avatar as a young woman in her early twenties that was slightly shorter than Belldandy and while the latter remained mostly unchanged, she now possessed a chest that was almost the same size as Urd's. Also, both of them had red, curly hair that reached all the way to their hips, although the Norn of the present still had them in a ponytail, while Hild simply left them flow freely.

"Hm… I don't see why your sister should be this shy. She's definitely a looker," said Urd after studying the disguised Belldandy for a few seconds. She did seem to be rather uncomfortable in those clothes, and in a way that made the half goddess feel a little bit more at ease around her, given that she didn't seem to be here to hit on her housemates. After all, it was easy to assume that those two were probably looking for some dates and at the very least she wasn't a likely threat; leaving only one to worry about. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Urd and these are my friends: the dark haired one is Keiichi, the one next to him is Dagaz, and… Mr. ping pong champion is Vali."

'She really doesn't know how to lose…' thought the war god cadet, shaking his head. Still, there was something strange about those two, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't quite tell what it was. So, for the time being he decided to keep a close eye on them for any kind of suspicious moves they might make.

Unlike him, the two other guys of their group appeared to be much friendlier to the newcomers; especially Dagaz who tried to make a good impression to them. "Hello girls! It's nice to see some friendly faces around here!"

"The pleasure is all ours," said Hild, as she glanced towards Belldandy who had remained silent during the whole exchange. "Right, Bella?"

"Um… yes, we're happy to meet you all." Looking from the blonde god to Urd, Belldandy was worried that having a conversation with them would be really problematic. As a first class goddess, she was prohibited from telling a lie and as a result, any questions about her background would be impossible to answer without revealing the truth. Because of that, they decided to leave Hild do most of the talking while she played the role of the shy sister, although her clothes did make her act the part much more naturally.

"Likewise. Actually, we were planning to go and get a drink, so if you want you can come with us, too," said Urd with a smile as she saw Dagaz's excited expression. It was no secret that the blonde god really appreciated the fairer of the two sexes, even though his courtship skills left much to be desired.

"Sounds like fun to me," said Hild, giving her daughter a wink. "Lead the way, darling!"

XXX

Smiling contently, the bronze skinned goddess could almost feel the revitalizing effect of the high quality sake as she sipped from her glass. According to the explanation she had gotten from her two celestial housemates all immortals had an innate power source, rendering them truly self sufficient in every sense of the word, although there were situations where that could also be quite problematic. The extreme energies released by those ten dimensional beings could literally rip the very fabric of reality in the three dimensional mortal realm and as a compromise while they resided there, it was mandatory to rely on a local power supply which was provided to them by Yggdrasil.

Acting like a power converter, it transformed their native power to something that could be used safely in a lower realm and while that solved the majority of problems, a rather unfortunate side effect was that as long as they remained stationed on the mortal realm, they became dependent on the celestial mainframe for nourishment.

In order to have a backup in the event Yggdrasil went offline for a while, all of them had an alternative power source that could be used both in emergencies or as an auxiliary power supply, even if there was nothing wrong with the celestial mainframe. What that alternative power source was depended on each individual god or goddess and could vary greatly from edible things to various kinds of activities.

For Urd, that turned out to be alcoholic beverages, which explained why she enjoyed having some booze on an almost daily basis, while Vali meditated to recharge himself and Dagaz apparently enjoyed eating peanuts; earning the nickname _squirrel_ from Urd. Knowing that made her life a lot easier, as it reassured the amnesiac goddess that her taste for alcohol wasn't some kind of addiction but a natural need and at the same time, it also allowed her to realize that quality was far better than quantity.

Cheap alcohol was easily accessible yet it provided little amount of energy for Urd, and as a result the half goddess new knew that finding higher quality booze wasn't an unnecessary excess but a more efficient way of recharging herself. The only real downside was the additional cost of buying some premium brands of local sake that proved to be a bit too expensive for her rather unimpressive salary.

With that in mind as well as the fact that, Vali was covering the expenses of this trip, Urd felt less reserved to drink to her heart's content and went all out; making some of the onsen's employees wonder just how she could have this much sake and not get totally wasted in the process.

What started with a few glasses ended up becoming a competition of sorts as to who could drink the most and much to her amazement, the two women she met earlier had managed to keep up with her; despite the fact that they were supposed to be mere humans. It was far from unusual for Keiichi to call it quits after his second glass, as the young man was unaccustomed to alcohol, but after her other immortal housemates gave up, Urd was rather hesitant to do the same and allow herself to look like a lightweight compared to those two.

"Ah, that's really delicious too!"

Frowning, Urd glanced over at Belldandy who sat next to her at the room's traditional low table and then looked at the dozen or so bottles of sake they had ordered so far; most of them already empty. Opposite of them was Hild who apparently was rather amused by the sight of her daughter struggling to keep up with two ' _humans_ ', since she was blissfully unaware of their true nature and apparently was starting to feel the effect of her power buildup that eerily resembled someone having a light buzz.

Normally, Urd would've simply used most of the energy she got from her booze and then keep drinking for as long as she wanted. Yet with the two ' _mortals_ ' next to her, she had little choice but to endure, hoping that at some point they'd finally give up; although with every passing second Urd was getting closer to her limit. "Yeah… that's really nice, right… uh… Belld-... Bella?..."

Taking a sharp breath, the Norn of the present wondered if her sister had somehow managed to remember something or even see through her disguise; although in the end she rationalized that it was most likely a mere slur caused by the sake. Still, that didn't make things way better as a drunken goddess could be dangerous and on top of that, given her lack of memories, Urd had little control over her powers even under normal conditions; let alone in her current state of mind. "I'll have to agree, but how about we try something else for now?"

"Like what? Vodka? Tequila? Or do you want something else?" asked the inebriated half goddess.

"Actually, I thought that we had enough drinks and… a game could be a much more entertaining way to pass time," said Belldandy in a desperate attempt to stop her sister from drinking any more booze and end up losing all control of herself.

"Oh! I like the sound of that!" said the grinning half goddess, much to Belldandy's relief. Alought that proved to be too early for the temporary redhead to relax when Urd decided to voice just what she had in mind for the group. "Let's play strip poker!"

" _EH?! S-Strip?..._ "

"Oh! I _love_ the sound of that!" Much like her daughter, Hild was more than delighted to try anything that was interesting and given that everyone was gathered in the same place like this, the potential for something good to come out of this was hard to ignore.

"Great!" said Urd before she turned to her three housemates. "Hey, boys! Come and play some strip poker with us!"

Looking up from their own card game, the trio glanced at each other and seemed rather hesitant to offer a definitive answer.

"But… we're already playing a game!" said Dagaz, causing Urd to get up and approach them in order to get a closer look at what they were doing.

"That's… a children's game, actually," said the half goddess with a frown, shaking her head. "Real men should play an adults' game!"

"But!... For once, I'm actually winning!" said Dagaz in a desperate attempt to convince her.

"Oh well… I can't really force you. What a pity, we're definitely have more fun over there…" said Urd with a low purr. "And if you end up in a winning a round… you'll get to see _boobies_ , too!"

There was a long pause as the blonde god went completely silent while his other two housemates groaned at the goddess' painfully obvious attempt to bait him into joining her. Although, in the end they didn't have to wait for too long before the blonde god finally caved in and decided to go for it.

"Uh… I think you've both got the basics, so… um… you can have a duel all by yourselves, right?"

"Sure, have fun," was Keiichi's dry repy, while Vali shook his head. Despite her claims, Urd wasn't known for someone who liked to lose that easily and the whole setup was most certainly a trap to get a convenient victim as an additional assurance that she wasn't going to end up buck naked.

"Thanks guys! Wish me luck!"

Trying not to laugh, both of them gave him a thumbs up. Luck was the only thing that could save the poor god at this point, and without further ado, Keiichi and Vali decided to start their own… duel.

XXX

 _Valhalla, Asgard_

"Hey, move it! I want to see too!"

A group of about half a dozen Valkyries were gathered around Chrono's station where the young recruit was monitoring the situation over at Midgard. Tasked by her commanding officer to keep an eye out for anything potentially troublesome while she was taking a break, the blonde Valkyrie couldn't resist the urge to check on what was the most spicy topic in the whole Valhalla: Urd and her three housemates.

As a matter of fact, it had turned into such a hot topic, that there was even a betting pool as to which one of the three was going to end up becoming the half goddess' boyfriend. And right now, they had the perfect opportunity to watch what was going on over there.

"Hey, don't push! The screen is big enough for all of us!"

Despite Chrono's best efforts, it was hard to maintain order when dealing with excited Valkyries and the latest footage they've got didn't make matters any better either. Especially those clips from the pool where everyone ended up buck naked at some point of time.

"What's going on here?"

All of a sudden, everyone went silent and turned to find Lind approaching them with curiosity evident on her face. She wasn't expected to return for at least another hour, and as a result she caught her subordinates by surprise when she showed up this early, especially Chrono who was supposed to be the only one on this station.

"Um… I… Well… y-you see…"

Panicking as she was caught red handed, the blonde Valkyrie almost froze right on the spot, all while the others took a few steps away from her and the approaching captain. And as a result of her inability to react, Chrono had unwillingly allowed Lind to get a good look of what they were previously watching once she got close enough to the terminal, making the senior Valkyrie pause and raise an eyebrow in complete silence.

For several tense seconds, Lind kept watching at the recorded footage of her son and his two housemates stare Urd while they were in the bath; yet what was note mentioning was the fact that everyone was totally naked. While it was nothing unusual for her to bathe together with her fellow warriors in the communal baths they had in the dormitories, the idea of doing the same in a mixed gender setup was one step too far for the blue haired goddess. Worse, from her personal experience as a member of the Fighting Wings, Lind knew that settings like this were often a prelude of acts most… immoral, and that time was of the essence before her poor boy was corrupted by getting involved in such debauchery.

"Carry on," said the Valkyrie captain, shocking her subordinates as she turned around and was about to leave them as if nothing was out of the ordinary. However, they were soon to discover that it wasn't indifference that motivated their captain to do such a thing; far from it. "If anyone inquires as to my whereabouts, tell them I went to Midgard."

"No, wait captain! We've got explicit orders to stay out of this!" Shooting up from her chair, Chrono grabbed the blue haired Valkyrie in an effort to stop her from doing something that she might later come to regret.

Of course, it took a lot more to stop the determined war goddess and concerned mother from leaving the room; and to be precise, that meant the rest of the Valkyries who were present on the scene. Such was the strength of Asgard's most famous war goddess that it took nearly half a dozen of her subordinates to bring her to a halt and even then it required a lot of effort on their part.

"Let go of me this instant!"

"Please, calm down! You'll get yourself in serious trouble if you defy Tyr-sama's orders!" pleaded Chrono, hoping to reason with her.

"That would be my problem, not yours. Now unhand me before I'm forced to use force to…"

"Excuse me, but… what's going on here?"

Pausing and turning towards the exit, the Valkyries noticed Ansuz standing by the doorframe with a curious expression on her face. After all, it was a most peculiar sight and anyone would've been intrigued by what was happening; especially considering the reputation of the highest ranking goddess that was involved in this.

"I'm needed on Midgard," was all that Lind had to offer as a reply.

"Your subordinates seem to disagree, though," said Ansuz as she approached the war goddesses. "So, there's got to be more to it than that."

"Yes… it appears that morality is all but a word with no meaning these days."

"Oh, my! Details please!" said Ansuz, leaning closer to the grumbling Valkyrie who simply nodded in the direction of Chrono's terminal. "Thanks! Now, let's see what's going on there!"

Glancing at their apparently excited second in command, judging by her flapping winglets, the assorted Valkyries couldn't help but notice how poise and manners could be thrown out of the window when gossip was concerned.

"Ansuz-sama?"

"Hm? What is it, Lind?"

"It may not be my place to say this, but… as a married goddess you shouldn't be looking at naked men in such a fashion."

Letting a sigh, the teal haired goddess glanced over her shoulder at the indignant Valkyrie, all while she saved a copy of the footage in her personal account for… further study, of course. "It's exactly because I'm a wife that my personal experience could give us a better insight in a situation like this. Besides, that accusation is a bit inaccurate, since I'm also a mother and as such, I've got two daughters to marry. Given that I find it unlikely for Urd-chan to get all three of them, that would leave the other two as available choices for my girls; Belldandy in particular since Skuld needs some quite some time before she's old enough."

"B-But!... That means!..."

"That means that the chances of your son ending up as my son-in-law are now significantly higher," finished Ansuz for the trembling Valkyrie. "Actually, I think I need to talk to that stubborn daughter of mine and convince her to try and date one of them after Urd-chan picks whoever she likes!"

'Over my cold, dead body… Although… Belldandy wouldn't be that much of a bad option… _No!..._ They won't fool me that easily! Vali's not ready for such a big step… yet. I need to talk to him, before they manage to seduce him.'

XXX

It was already past midnight when Urd and her group decided to retire for the night, or rather… her housemates did their best to convince her that she had enough fun for one day. A task most difficult once Urd realized that she was almost impossible to beat in video games and thought some payback was in order; especially after losing to Vali at ping pong and Bella to… pretty much anything that involved luck.

The disguised goddess in question along with her demonic accomplice had also excused themselves several minutes ago, but not before Hild offered Urd a tiny piece of paper with her phone number written on it. And while the half goddess didn't pay too much attention at first, dismissing it as a stereotypical promise people made to keep in contact only to be quickly forgotten; when she actually read the paper Urd couldn't help but feel that the number written on it was oddly familiar. Even more, those two acted in a way that made the bronze skinned goddess feel as if she actually knew them, even though she was fairly certain that she had never met them previously.

As a result, Urd remained awake for a while after everyone else had fallen asleep staring at the little note in her hands, despite that it was almost pitch black with only the tiniest amount of moonlight coming from outside the window.

'Where have I seen this before? I could've sworn that not only I know this but… I've even dialed it. Or is it just my imagination? It's so hard to tell…'

Letting a sigh, Urd pocketed the note and looked over at the guys who were crammed together in one half of the room with the other being reserved for her. Not that it really mattered since there was virtually no divider or any other kind of barrier to provide any privacy. Yet considering what took place a few hours ago, Urd wasn't terribly concerned about letting them get a glimpse of her nightie or even worry that they'd overreact in any sort of way; Keiichi in particular.

'Poor guy… I think he had a rough day with all that happened in the pool. Not that he didn't enjoy it, with me falling on top of him and all that.'

Grinning at the memory of the struggling mechanic before overstimulation caused him to lose consciousness, Urd had to admit that for an accident it was definitely a pretty funny one. Still, considering that it was unlikely for Keiichi to believe that she hadn't done it on purpose, the half goddess wanted to find a way to make up for it and one of the best ideas she had was going to be a real challenge for her: cooking.

As mundane as it sounded, preparing a meal for Keiichi could make him a lot happier than trying to come up with a much more elaborate plan, although the obvious downside was that she had no idea how to pull it through successfully.

'Hm… I'll have to buy a few books and maybe ask Dagaz for some tips, too. Although, I probably need to let him some time to forget about the whole strip poker game. Wearing three garter belts on top of each other might've been a bit of an overkill on my part. Oh well, I think he's going to forget about it in no time, and help me with my little project. He may not be Belldandy but he does know about…'

All of a sudden Urd's thoughts came to a screeching halt and backtracked to the point where that particular name came up. She had no idea how she even recalled it but for a moment, the Norn of the past had no doubt that it was a major breakthrough, a belief that was further affirmed when images of a brunette popped in her mind and even more, a young goddess was also present in many of them.

" _VALI!_ "

Shooting up from her bed, Urd nearly jumped over to the startled god who along with the others looked around to see what was going on. as soon as they woke up.

" _What… who... when?_ " wondered the blue haired god as he summoned his battleaxe for a good measure, just in case he happened to need it.

"Never mind that! You've read my profile, right?" asked Urd while hovering right in front of his face.

"Um… yes?" replied the hesitant god, swallowing as he backed off a bit.

"Who's Belldandy?"

XXX

"Hild… are you awake?"

Turning to the goddess who was lying on the futon next to hers, the miniature Daimakaicho summoned a tiny ball of dim light that was barely enough to illuminate the room. "Yes. After all, as they say... there's no rest for the wicked. So, what is it Bell-chan?"

"I just wanted to thank you for today. I got to meet neesan even under a disguise and it felt better than just watching her from afar," said Belldandy with a tiny smile as she recalled the latest events.

"You're welcome, Bell-chan. I was planning to show up anyway and taking you along only made things even better. Except when it came to playing poker with you…" said Hild, pausing for a moment to offer the goddess a mock glare. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that you cheated."

"I…. It was just luck… I've never played that game in the past."

"If you're trying to make me feel better, you're not doing a great job, Bell-chan." said Hild with a pout, before her expression changed to a wicked grin. "Yet, I'm the one who's going to have the final word in this. You may have beaten our… panties off, but look what I've got here!"

Staring in shock and disbelief, Belldandy realized that the item dangling from Hild's hand appeared to be her pantes, and a quick check under her nightie verified her suspicion. " _How did you?!_ "

"I've got my ways…Although I must admit that I'm genuinely impressed Bell-chan. A side tie design? Not bad; not bad at all!" said Hild tossing the pilfered undergarment back to its rightful and rather embarrassed owner. "But I think that this should be enough fooling around. I wanted to ask your opinion about those three boys."

Trying to recover, the still blushing goddess scratched her chin as she tilted her head in thought. "Hm… they seem to be nice people if you ask me. Actually, I've met Vali before on a few occasions while he was still spying… I mean… monitoring neesan and the other two also appear to care for her. Although, poor Dagaz seems to have a rather bad luck whenever he tries to attract her attention and ends up in all kinds of embarrassing situations."

"That's the kindest way of calling someone a pervert I've ever heard," said Hild with an amused giggle.

"I don't think that he's so crude to only care about neesan's… assets, if that's you mean. A more proper way of describing him would be..." said Belldandy, pausing for a moment to consider her words. "I'd think that _chivalrous pervert_ would be a more accurate description."

"Hm... I see no reason to disagree with you on that. However, what about our mortal boy? He's the one who met Urd-chan first and got to live with her. So, what do you think about him?"

"Quite honestly… I believe he's got the best chances to end up in a relationship with Urd, although… when it comes to neesan it's always a bit hard to predict how she's going to act."

"True words, although, what of the man himself?"

"I have no idea, to be honest with you. He seems to be a genuinely good person, but…the real question is whether he can handle Urd, since she can be tricky at times. On the other hand though, he doesn't seem to be one who gives up easily and that's a great trait for anyone aspiring to become her boyfriend. Even more, after learning about her true nature, he made no attempts to distance from herself or worse… exploit her for his personal gain," said Belldandy with a frown. "It's unfortunate but on more than enough occasions, mortals try to make a profit by approaching us."

"Well, for us demons that's business as usual, although I'd rather not have an individual like that try to date my girl. She's got enough morons for boyfriends already!"

"Alas that's true," said Belldandy with a sigh. "I just hope that whatever happens, Urd's not going to lose this opportunity to have someone special instead of a jackass like… Uh… what's so funny?" said Belldandy when she noticed the little Daimakaicho roll in her futon in laughter.

"J-Jackass?... I never thought that you'd say something like that!"

"Well, it's not that I can lie, although… I may had been a bit too harsh. Not that I truly regret it, though. Neesan deserved a lot more than being dumped time after time, and in some cases for petty reasons."

"It would seem that things are different this time, though," said Hild with a smile. "Say… can I ask you something?"

"Um…. what is it?"

"Did you actually had a great time today?"

Pausing for a moment to think about it, the brunette goddess eventually smiled and offered a nod. "Yes, I must admit that I did enjoy it quite a bit!"

"Good, because we might do this again in the future, although without our disguises," said Hild, offering her a wink. "If my little insect spy is right… Urd-chan apparently remembered you."

" _Eh?_ "

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

I would also like to thank ObeliskX for the initial suggestion for a reverse harem setting that led to this story.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

In the series it was never hinted whether celestials required any permission to summon money, although, Belldandy had mentioned that she couldn't make money appear out of thin air (not an exact quotation though). I personally believe that it's possible, but only under some restrictions and that caused the whole scene with Tyr and Vali.

The biggest thing that happened in this chapter was probably the fact that Urd started to remember more about her past and more specifically, Belldandy's name. And while I've left it as a cliffhanger for now, I must point out that I'm not going to start adding more characters in the temple as residents. There are more than enough living there and there's no need for more. Still, meeting her sisters will be an important part of the story and something that I do plan on covering in the next chapters.


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

* * *

"I love you _so_ much! How could I ever live without you?"

"Urd… it's just a dishwasher…"

"And your point _is?_ I've seen you doing almost the same things with bikes, so give me a break…"

It's been only two days since that trip to the hot springs and true to his word, Vali used the remainder of the money he had requested from Tyr to buy a couple of appliances that would make life easier at the temple. Actually, it was only an hour ago since they had them delivered and given that Keiichi was the resident mechanic, the task of installing them up was inevitably appointed to him. Or at least that was the excuse everyone else used to avoid getting their hands dirty with all the necessary work in order to fit a new dishwasher into a kitchen that was never designed to accommodate something like that in the first place.

"Guilty as charged, but… I still haven't finished installing it, Urd. Honestly… I never thought that this was going to turn into such a big project," said Keiichi with a tired sigh as he crawled out of the kitchen's bench with a troubled expression on face. "There are no fittings here to install it and this means that I must make them myself..."

"Is that a problem?" asked Urd as she took a few steps back to get out of the way, and then stopped and with a smile she started to hover instead. "I think I can give you a hand by using my pow-..."

"No, no, no! Most definitely… positively… certainly… _NO!_ "

"You didn't have to go that far… _Meanie!_ " said Urd in an attempt to sound hurt, although it was painfully obvious that is was just an act. "I work so hard to learn how to use magic again to make your life easier and you're so… cruel to me!"

"Urd… one of the neighbors down the mountain asked me if I heard anything about a company starting up a quarry here," said Keiichi with a raised eyebrow, already used to her antics by now.

"Um… too many explosions?"

"It's like a war zone out there whenever you start trying your magic. Any more and we could open a club for reenacting historic battles," said Keiichi in a deadpan manner.

"Hm… you know… that could fetch us some money," said the bronze skinned goddess, scratching her chin. "Mm… I bet I'd look hot in an officer's uniform..."

"It was a joke!"

"Mine too! And you fell for it!" laughed Urd, while Keiichi pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Whatever… I still need to finish with this dishwasher," said Keiichi, nodding towards the appliance's direction. "I may not be a plumber, but I won't admit defeat that easily!"

"Oh, no worries then! I'll be just outside and… make some more explosions!"

Shaking his head, Keiichi knew that arguing even further with her was pretty pointless when she was like that, so he decided to go back to what he's been doing instead. "Just don't cause a landslide, okay?"

"Don't you worry, Keiichi! I'll make some really small ones this time!" said Urd as she floated out of the kitchen; grinning as soon as she was out of sight.

' _Yes!..._ Everything's going according to plan!'

XXX

Rushing to the back of the house, Urd smiled at the sight of the barbecue she had already set up earlier in the morning and more importantly; at the delicious aroma of the kebabs that Dagaz was _supposed_ to keep an eye on while she was distracting Keiichi with her silly mannerisms. After all, she really wished to cook something for the young mechanic and by the looks of it, a barbecue was relatively simple enough for her to give it a try. However, in order to make it even better for Keiichi, the whole thing was meant to be a secret and as such, she had to make sure that he had no idea what was taking place in their backyard.

Yet, once again, even the simplest of things could turn into a complicated endeavour and in the process, offer an opportunity for Murphy's law to be confirmed.

" _Dagaz?_ Where are you?"

Looking around, the blonde god was nowhere to be seen and for a moment the amnesiac goddess considered the possibility of sabotage. 'If he did this on purpose to… let my food burn to a crisp, _then I'm gonna burn his sorry ass to a crisp!_ '

"DAGAZ! COME HERE YOU!"

"Meow!"

Feeling a paw against her foot, Urd blinked and looked down at Whiskers who promptly turned towards the direction of the pond, causing the half goddess follow his gaze.

"Huh? What is he doing over there?"

Approaching what seemed like a scene from a documentary about wildlife, Urd couldn't help but wonder why a _god_ was trying to drink from their pond; especially while on all four and with his head submerged underwater.

"Uh… are you okay?"

As soon as the god turned to face the somewhat concerned Norn of the past, it took all of her self restraint not to laugh at his rather hilarious predicament. Well… at least for three whole seconds until her demonic side found it far too funny and dragged her more sympathetic side that felt for the poor god's pain and suffering.

" _Bwa ha ha! H-How… How did you get like that?_ "

Offering her a positively dirty look, Dagaz knew that he should've listened to Vali's wise counsel and resist the urge to try her home cooking, and just do what she asked him in the first place. Alas, it was too much for the blonde god who felt a bit envious of their mortal housemate that was going to be the first one of them to sample Urd's cooking and while she was away to keep him busy in order to prevent the boy from getting curious as to why she was so quiet, Dagaz decided to take a bite. Just one tiny, itsy bitsy nimble of the delectable looking kebabs and… his taste buds exploded from the rich taste of the tender grilled chicken, along with the sliced onions and a variety of peppers that were added to enhance the flavor. Unfortunately for him, that included Tabasco peppers, Habaneros, ghost peppers and even the jewel of her collection: the Carolina Reaper.

"I trief… youf… fooff…" said the suffering god between pauses as he struggled to even talk; given how swollen his lips had become. "Itf… hurtfff…"

"Oh, come on! It's not _that_ bad, you big crybaby!" said Urd between giggles. Taking a bite of the extra spicy chicken kebabs, the half goddess and apparently avid lover of spicy food made an attempt to prove her point; and soon came to realize her folly.

" _HOT!_ "

"Tolff youff…"

Fanning her mouth with both hands, the goddess struggled to see through the tears that cascaded down her cheeks like miniature waterfalls. " _DON'T JUST STAND THERE! MILK! GET ME SOME MILK!_ "

" _Yeff!_ "

XXX

Tossing the empty milk carton aside, Urd and her comrade in pain began to slowly recover from what turned out to be the biggest fiasco as of late. While nowhere as impressive as magic running out of control, the mere fact that it was caused by simple, mundane food ingredients, frustrated the goddess to no end.

"This sucks!..."

"Well… think of the positive side…" said Dagaz in an effort to cheer the brooding goddess and make her forget the searing sensation that still tormented them; albeit to a far more tolerable level than before. "This could've happened to Keiichi."

"That's… true..." Trying not to imagine what would've happened if the poor mortal had taken a bite from her chicken kebabs, Urd still found herself deeply troubled. Her plan was clearly falling apart and while cheating was always an option, she knew that serving him something she hadn't cooked herself was going to be an empty victory. Worse, Keiichi wasn't an idiot and any such attempt would not only fail to convince him, but also make her look bad.

Taking a deep breath, Urd decided to swallow her pride and try the only remaining alternative: ask for help. "Okay… is there anything simple you could teach me that doesn't require us to use the kitchen?"

"Hm… I think that a full meal could be tricky, but… how about something like… a dessert?" suggested Dagaz, scratching his chin. "We could prepare it in another room while he's busy."

"Hey, that sounds good to me! Anything in particular you have in mind?" asked Urd with a smile, hoping that this would be an acceptable plan B.

"How about… pudding? We could use the barbecue to bake it in a baine-marie, and avoid having to use the oven in the kitchen," said Dagaz in an effort to appease her for his earlier transgressions an even earn a few points with her.

"Okay! I'll go and keep him busy, while you steal the ingredients from the fridge!" said Urd with a big grin. "Then we meet back here and see what we can make."

"Of course! After you, Urd."

XXX

 _Belldandy's apartment, Nekomi_

"So, what did neesan say?"

Drinking from the green tea, Belldandy had offered him, Vali took a moment to collect his thoughts and consider his answer carefully. After telling the others that he was going to the city for buying a few things, which was technically correct of course, the blue haired god took this opportunity to stop by the brunette's apartment and brief her about the recent developments.

"She's actually quite happy that she's got younger sisters and looks forward to meet you and even Skuld, but…"

"Is… there a problem?" asked Belldandy with a frown, noticing the troubled look on the cadet's face.

"Well, to be honest with you… I'm not sure that she actually knows that you're her half sister. She only recalls tiny bits of information and at no point did she mention anything about that particular topic, which makes me reluctant to bring it up as well. I'm still uncertain if she's ready to learn that she's a half demoness, meaning… that we may have a problem," said Vali, pausing for a moment to point at the goddess. "Your appearance is a dead giveaway that you two aren't from the same mother."

"Wait… you haven't shown her any pictures of me or Skuld?"

"Actually… no," admitted the god, lowering his head in shame. "I was afraid she would start asking all kind of questions, so I avoided that at all costs."

"I see. Although, if that's the case, then how am I supposed to meet her? She's going to realize what's going on, as soon as she sees me!" said Belldandy, worrying that the true reason behind Vali's visit was to tell her that her meeting with her sister was going to be postponed until further notice. After all, they could claim that she and Skuld were unavailable due to an assignment or something like that.

"Well, I thought that as long as you _look_ like her, that could solve the problem," said Vali with a hopeful expression on his face, rummaging through his shopping bags for something.

"I'm not sure if that's wise. It feels as if I'm trying to deceive my own sister and besides, when her memories return, she's going to _know for certain_ that I attempted to fool her."

"Not unless it has nothing to do with her," said Vali until he found what he was looking for: a magazine. And flipping through its pages, the blue haired god smiled when he reached the article that provided them with a solution to their problem. "Aha! Take a look at this article please."

"Hm?" Taking the magazine to her hands, Belldandy skimmed through the text, but she paid even more attention to the photos. "Ganguro? I've never actually heard of such a thing before. Although… some of the women in the photos… I suppose they bear a _slight_ resemblance to Urd."

"I thought so, too! I mean, as long as you don't go too far, you might be able to look a bit like Urd, while trying a local style that apparently has absolutely nothing with her. As far as anyone is concerned, you're not necessarily trying to deceive Urd."

"It… It feels like a technicality, though," said Belldandy with a frown. "No matter how I see it, this is still an attempt to deceive her…"

"Is there a better way, though? Who knows how she's going to react when she learns her true origins…"

The Norn of the present took another look at the magazine and tried to come up with an argument, but quickly realized that as outlandish as this solution was, even she didn't want to risk distressing her sister. Urd had always been a bit sensitive about her origins and without knowing how much she remembered, their reunion could turn horribly wrong if she wasn't mentally prepared to face the truth.

"Fine. I think that this may be the best way we could try this, without waiting for neesan to remember more about herself."

"Thank you, Belldandy." Smiling a bit, Vali got up and gathered the rest of his shopping bags. "Now, you'll have to excuse me, but I need to go before they start to wonder what's taking me so long. I trust that you'll drop by for a visit later?"

"That's correct, although… I'll have to come alone. Originally I wanted to pick Skuld up and bring her along too, however I think that it's for the best to avoid doing that. Once I talk to neesan and see how much she remembers, I can figure out what's the best way to let her meet Skuld. Until then, I'll have to do my best and follow this plan."

Offering her a nod, the blue haired god departed, leaving her alone to contemplate her options. Technically speaking, all she needed was to alter her appearance just enough to match her sister's bronze skin and perhaps her platinum hair. However, that might not be sufficient to claim that she was trying a style that was characterized by liberal use of makeup along with all kinds of fashionable outfits and the characteristic dark tan they applied for their skin.

While being wrong about something was always an option, doing it on purpose would've been a lie and for a first class goddess like her, such a thing was forbidden. As a result, Belldandy had to make it absolutely sure that she wasn't going to make a poor attempt at going for the ganguro style, but try to adopt it to a certain degree that would eliminate any possibilities of making her claims sound like a lie.

'And let's not forget that I also need to look as if I'm related to Hild, too. That simply rules out most of my regular outfits, since she prefers considerably more audacious clothing and to a certain degree that's also the case with neesan. Alright, I think I've got the basis… Now the question is whether I can pull it off or not.'

XXX

"What do you think?"

Taking a closer look at the Urd's first ever attempt at making a dessert, Dagaz had to admit that the pudding seemed to have the right consistency, color and even texture that one would've expected from such a dessert; except… for its shape.

"Um… I kind of like the result, although in hindsight, baking them inside those rice bowls _might_ have been a bad idea."

"Huh? Why, what's wrong with them?"

"Can't you just tell by their shape? I mean… come on! When you flip them over, don't they seem like… you know…"

"No, and you're just a pervert," said Urd, rolling her eyes at the obviously immature god. "I had to use what was available to me, and it's not my fault that those bowls were so round. Besides… I doubt that Keiichi's gonna think the same, so, the really important question is how they _taste_."

"Well, I won't argue with that. As they say, the proof is in the pudding." Smiling at the goddess, Dagaz noticed the rather intense stare stare he was receiving from her; the same one would've used when they wanted something. "Uh… what is it, Urd?"

"Aren't you going to give them a try?"

 _That_ made the blond god pale a bit, considering the almost traumatic experience he had gone through earlier this morning. "A-Are you sure? After all, they're for Keiichi and… I don't know… it could be inappropriate for me to eat them and…"

'Damn coward…' thought the half goddess, before her more devious side came up with a plan to change his mind. "Say, if you give them a taste, I'll let you _touch_ what they're shaped after…"

Watching her offer him a rather suggestive wink, Dagaz's mental defenses collapsed under the promise of such a titillating reward and with far less hesitation than a moment ago, he took a big spoonful of the offered dessert. "Hey! That's… not bad! Not bad at all, actually!"

"Yes! I got it!" said Urd, with a triumphant grin, knowing that while her original plan had failed, she had still managed to recover and come up with an alternative.

"Um…" Blushing a bit, the blonde god tried to clear his throat, hoping that this would remind her of the offer she made moment ago, and by the looks of it, Urd actually got the message.

"Oh, right!" Turning around Urd reached for something, and for a while Dagaz couldn't help but stare at her with wide eyes, thinking that she was fiddling with her top.

Unfortunately for him, though, the half goddess simply offered him the stack of bows they've used for making the pudding, leaving Dagaz with a pretty confused expression on his face. "Uh… Urd?"

"Stop staring at me like that. You wanted to touch what they're _shaped after_ , and… you got your wish granted I guess. Now, be a darling and take them to the kitchen for me, will you?" said the smiling Norn of the past, trying to ignore the utterly devastated look on the poor god's face. "Oh, and since you're onto it, why don't you wash them too?"

'She got me _so_ bad, it's not even funny!' Heading back to the house, the grumbling blonde noticed his other housemate arrive at the temple grounds, carrying a few shopping bags with him. "Hey, Urd! Vali's back!"

"Excellent! Now we've got everything to make a proper lunch!"

"You mean… to warm it up in our new microwave oven," corrected the blonde god, perhaps in an effort to politely remind her that he was _still_ the only one in this house who actually knew how to cook.

" _Oh, shush you!_ "

XXX

While the original plan was to surprise Keiichi with her chicken barbecue while using the pre-cooked meal as a convenient excuse to keep him from realizing what she was planning, there was an unfortunate change in the menu, leaving Urd no option but to end up relying on that microwave meal after all.

'You know… I'm kind of lucky that I sent Vali to buy that pre-cooked food, or I would've made a fool of myself. Oh, well… I suppose it could've gone way worse, if I tried to serve those kebabs without trying them first.'

And while Urd worked in the kitchen, her three housemates were seated around the low table in the living room, waiting patiently for the half goddess with their lunch and used this opportunity to have some small talk about their day so far. Of course, despite the rather pleasant atmosphere in the room, each of them decided to keep certain… details from the rest. Things like Vali's visit to Belldandy, Dagaz's little incident involving those spicy kebabs that were now considered unsafe for consumption. and even Keiichi's own realization that he was indeed not a plumber after all.

"By the way… Have you told your sister anything about Urd's nature?" asked Vali, making the dark haired mechanic frown a bit.

"Not really. It's kind of a… tough subject, I guess. I'm unsure how to tell her that not only Urd's a goddess, but there are also two other…" started Keiichi before the sound of the doorbell interrupted him and made the three housemates exchange a puzzled look.

"Uh… are we expecting guests?" asked Dagaz, before he glanced over to Vali who decided that this was about time to tell them about Belldandy.

"Actually…"

Meanwhile, as the doorbell kept ringing, Tyr thought that it was taking the rest of them too long to answer it and decided to do it himself, despite the fact that he was just inhabiting the body of a cat.

'Leaving me to answer the door. How impolite!'

Sliding the door open, Tyr was about to offer their visitor a welcoming meow and laugh at their predictable reaction when he suddenly froze; unable to even comprehend just what he was seeing, let alone accept it.

Before his astonished eyes stood a… bronze skinned, blonde… Belldandy, with pale, cream white eyeshadow and a matching lipstick to complement her already outlandish appearance. As if that wasn't strange enough, she was wearing a ridiculously tight, mini skirt with a leopard pattern printed on it, along with a matching, low cut top that left her shoulders along with the upper part of her golden bra in plain view. On top of all that, she was adorned with numerous bracelets, rings, necklaces, and even her high heeled boots had golden chains wrapped around them.

Reaching her golden purse, the almost unrecognizable goddess retrieved a pack of cigarettes and with a snap of her fingers, Belldandy light it up and looked down to her petrified father while taking a long drag from her smoke.

"Yo, pops!"

" _MREWAARR?!_ "

Poking her head out of the kitchen to see what caused Whiskers such distress, Urd instantly spotted her sister and simply stared at her for several long seconds; raising an eyebrow at the spectacle as she too tried to explain what she was seeing.

"Who might _you_ be?"

XXX

Moments later, the temple's residents, plus their unexpected guest were seated in the living room, drinking a cup of tea while they tried to make sense of the situation. Despite Vali's attempt to warn them of Belldandy's arrival, even that failed to save them from the shock of seeing just what Urd's sister looked like. As a matter of fact, the war god cadet himself could hardly believe his eyes at the outcome of was happened to be his own idea, although in all fairness, he never thought that _Belldandy_ of all goddesses would've gone _this_ far with her act.

Even Hild's tiny form was staring at this spectacle in disbelief, as she remained hidden in the attic above them and watched the unfolding event between the gaps in the ceiling's wooden panels.

"Here, I haven't used this for a while, but I knew that I've kept it somewhere."

Offering the now… blonde goddess of the present his rather unusual ashtray, which in reality was a re-purposed old piston that was turned upside down, Keiichi was the one who was mostly unaffected by what was happening around him. After all, this was his first time meeting Belldandy as far as he was concerned and without any idea about what she was normally supposed to look or even act like, the mortal had managed to remain calm and collected. Unlike Dagaz for example, who hid behind an equally shell-shocked Vali; although the latter was mostly worried about the prospect of Tyr learning just _whose brilliant_ idea this was. And with the possessed cat still staring at his middle daughter with dilated eyes and his fur standing up on its end, the cadet knew that it wasn't going to be a fun conversation for him.

"Thanks sweetie, you're quite the helpful type," said Belldandy blowing a kiss in the air, which resulted in a smoke ring that apparently fascinated the goddess who went on and made more of them; much to the other immortals' disbelief.

"Oh, you're welcome," said Keiichi, trying to sit a bit further away from her, just in case. He was rather concerned by the long stare Urd was giving her sister and the last thing he needed was to ruin their reunion by turning it into a catfight. Although, he had to admit that after listening to Vali's description of the middle Norn, Keiichi couldn't help but notice that this goddess was a bit… different from what he had originally expected. 'And here I thought that Urd was a difficult goddess to handle. Boy… her younger sister is totally wild!'

'This is wrong. Utterly and totally wrong!' Narrowing her eyes, the half goddess kept staring at Belldandy and despite her amnesia, she was 100% sure that this wasn't how her middle sister was supposed to be. Indeed, in her mind's eye she had an image of a soft spoken, gentle and above all, shy goddess that certainly didn't match what she was seeing in front of her. "Say… Belldandy… When was the last time we saw each other, again?"

"Hm… it must've been… back when you and your _squeeze_ over there," said the temporarily blonde goddess as nodded in Keiichi's direction, "were looking for a house?"

"Really? I sure don't recall seeing you," said Urd, scratching her chin in thought, trying to remember if she hand actually ran onto her at any point of time back then, but failed to come up with anything.

"That's probably because I don't normally look like this." Taking a long drag from her smoke, Belldandy pointed towards Vali, much to his horror. "It was that bloke's idea, actually. Something about looking a bit more like you would've been better… Seems to me that it didn't though, as you keep giving me that funny look."

"Anyone would! I mean… look at you!" said Urd, as she paused to try and come up with something that didn't sound too offensive. "Even _I_ wouldn't walk around like that!"

"Dunno about that… I've actually borrowed this from your closet back home. Although I didn't want to modify it and because it was a bit too loose up top, I also took one of your really old bikinis you had when you were a teenager. Couldn't help it, since I'm not as stacked as you, sis," said Belldandy with a shrug.

"Uh huh… And you didn't bother to modify them, because?" asked Urd with a raised eyebrow.

"Well… you don't like it when others mess around with your things, sis. Even borrowing this outfit was a bit too much, to be honest with you. Last time Skuld did that, you made her built a bunch of useless things."

"Hm… _that_ sounds kind of familiar…" admitted Urd, crossing her arms. "When she was… little? Something about breaking a beaker with… a potion?"

"Yep! You got that right!" said Belldandy with a wink, happy to see that her sister was starting to recall a few things.

"Okay… now that we've got out of they way, can I learn something even more important? Why was it even necessary to try… this?" asked Urd, pointing at her sister's getup.

"Um… well… the idea was…"

"Out wit it!"

Taking a deep breath as she lit up another cigarette, the faux blonde was facing the very question that in a way lead to all this in the first place; and being unable to lie, the goddess decided that keeping up the act was only going to lead into more problems. "Honestly? We just didn't want to make you worry about your… um… origins?"

"Are you talking about my mother?" Because I think that she's not a goddess at all," said Urd, earning a few worried looks around the table, as well as a really curious one from Keiichi. "She's a… demoness, isn't she?"

"You _knew?_..." asked the somewhat surprised Norn of the present, while Hild poked her head out of her hiding place, staring at her daughter in wonder.

"Yeah… no matter how much I tried, I couldn't imagine my mother being a goddess. That, and the number that girl gave me a couple of days ago… I remembered it. I've dialed it in the past and it connected to a place called Niflheim."

"You said it! After all, your mum's the top honcho of Hell," said Belldandy, making the others stare at her. "Huh? What are you looking at?"

"Uh… why are _still_ acting like that?" asked Vali. "There's no point doing it anymore. Not that it worked anyway."

"Because it's kind of funny to try something new once in your life? And let's not mention that everyone thinks that I'm way _too_ serious to pull a prank, even though that's clearly untrue," said Belldandy before she let out a sigh. "Still, I guess it's about time I change back into something a bit more comfortable and hopefully join you for lunch? If that's okay with you, of course."

"Don't be ridiculous! Of course it's okay," said Urd, as she got up to take Belldandy to her room. "This way."

"Yes."

XXX

"Ah… much better!"

Having changed into a much more conservative outfit than what she wore before, Belldandy was back into the fair skinned brunette Urd recalled from her still fragmented memories.

"I think it suits you better than my old clothes," said the half goddess with a small smile that made her sister giggle.

"Oh, definitely! Especially the underwear, as that thong was driving me crazy, to be honest with you."

There was a long pause as the two of them simply stared at each other before they started laughing at the somewhat unexpected joke the younger Norn made, perhaps to prove her point that she still hasn't lost her sense of humor.

"No, kidding! I guess you're not used to those things, so leave them to big sister, okay?"

Offering her a nod, Belldandy had to admit that even without her memories, this was still her elder sister. Although optimistic to a fault, the goddess of the present worried that all that information about her past could've caused a far more serious reaction from Urd, but in the end she simply shrugged it off and in all honesty that made Belldandy respect her even more than before. 'You're a much stronger goddess than most give you credit for, neesan. I sometimes feel envious of how you can do such a thing while making it look as if it's the simplest thing in the world.'

"Hm? Why are you smiling like that? Is there something funny on my face?" asked Urd with a giggle, noticing her sister's expression.

"No, I'm just happy that you're still the same Urd I know. Although, I never thought you'd try to cook anything regardless of the circumstances," said Belldandy, earning a tiny blush from her embarrassed sibling who tried to shrug it off as nothing of great importance.

"Hey, I just needed to prove that I'm as good as anyone else when it came to something that simple as cooking! I can't let the others think that I _can't_ do it; just that… It's not one of my hobbies," said Urd with a dismissive shrug.

'You're such a bad liar…' Offering her a nod regardless, Belldandy tried to avoid pushing her any more and end up in an argument. That whole stunt was more than enough already and the last thing she needed was to agitate her sister without a reason. "In that case, do you need help with anything?"

"Hm… I think I've got almost everything covered, but another pair of hands wouldn't hurt. I'm still not relying on my powers to hover things too much, and besides… we've already had enough surprises for today," said Urd as she paused for a moment and decided to ask something she was wondering for a while. "Say… that fortune teller me and Keiichi met some time ago… That was you, right?"

"Ah, that's correct. I'm really sorry I had to resort to such a trick in order to offer my assistance."

"And that means that you lived here on Nekomi for all this time, right?"

"Uh… yes, that's indeed true. Why?"

Curling her lips up in a small smirk, Urd leaned closer to her sister. "Well… according to Vali, he met you at least once, so… did that start a lot earlier?"

"Eh?" Frowning a bit, the brunette goddess had a feeling that this headed into a discussion that she really didn't want to have; especially with Urd.

"Oh, stop feigning ignorance. I may haven't bought your previous act, but at the same time, I don't think you're absolutely innocent either. Come on, you tell me, I won't get mad."

"No! I haven't done anything… too…" Coming to a stop, Belldandy knew that she was treading dangerous waters here, as even the slightest mistake could mean the difference between trying to hide the truth and telling an outright lie.

"Hm?... Anything _too..._ what? Don't stop at the best part, girl! The suspense is killing me, so out with it!"

"I… have seen them during that onsen visit," admitted Belldandy as he cheeks turned beet red.

"Aha! That's more like it! So… after the big reveal… who was your favorite?"

" _Neesan!_ " said the goddess, puffing her red cheeks as she crossed her arms. "You shouldn't say such things!"

"Pff! What's the big deal? We're both adults here, so stop acting like a little girl and tell me, who had the best…"

" _Don't say it!_ "

"Abs…" finished Urd with a huge grin, enjoying her sister's fierce blush that almost glowed like a hot iron out of a blast furnace. "You were totally thinking something absolutely naughty, didn't you?"

"N-N… Not fair! I cannot lie, so stop asking such questions!"

"But, that's the best part! Since you cannot tell a lie, I can finally learn a few more things about you!" said Urd as she leaned so close that her nose was almost touching Belldandy's. "Come on, girl! Who's got the best abs?"

"Well… g-given his training… I think that would be… Vali?"

"Yes! _I knew it!_ " said Urd as she realized that this was the best opportunity to get her sister back for that stunt she pulled earlier. Even though Belldandy's intentions were undoubtedly good, Urd felt that she had to best her or her reputation as a troublemaker was at stake. Making a mental note to ponder just how she even remembered that later, Urd decided to focus on the _present_ moment, along with the Norn who governed that element. "Hey, why don't you stay here for the night and snuggle against those nice abs?"

" _Neesan! That's not funny!_ " shouted the deeply embarrassed goddess, before much to her horror noticed that her sister was about to leave the room. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"To tell Vali, of course!" said Urd with a giggle, causing her sister to run after her.

"No, stop!"

XXX

It was a scene of utter and total chaos. That was probably the best way to describe what had taken place in the living room, as the seemingly docile Whiskers turned into a feral beast during the goddesses' absence.

"What's… going on here?" asked Urd, from her spot at the room's entrance, while Belldandy peeked over her taller sibling's shoulder to find Keiichi and Dagaz on one side of the living room, while the tabby cat and the cadet wrestled in the other.

"W-Whiskers gone mad!" said Dagaz, pointing at the feline in question as Keiichi decided to continue. "Yes, as soon as you and Belldandy left, he went all out at Vali without any warning!"

"Huh… He stopped now, though," noted Urd, looking at the possessed cat tried to act as innocently as possible now that the two Norns were present.

However, this was all in vain since Belldandy decided to step in and admonish her father for his behavior, given that the blue haired recipient of his wrath was in fact innocent and didn't deserve such an unfair treatment. "Father! You shouldn't be bullying him for something that was ultimately my decision! Besides, if we start talking about deception, you're not totally innocent as well."

"Wait… _father?_ " asked the baffled Keiichi, offering the cat a strange look; and he wasn't the only one.

Both Urd and Dagaz stared at the possessed feline with surprise evident on their faces, although unlike Keiichi it had more to do with the identity rather than the physical shape of their final housemate.

" _Father?_ Don't tell me that all this time, you've been spying on us…" said Urd, narrowing her eyes at the tabby cat, who he lowered his head and ears in shame.

"I'm… sorry… I just wanted to make sure you were alright after I've realized that you lost your memory and found this method as the most convenient one to accomplish that," admitted the possessed feline, pausing to take a look at his daughter who stared back at him with a skeptical look on her face.

"Can anyone please tell me why a cat talks?" asked the still baffled mortal, unable to accept that Urd's pet was actually her father.

"Oh, it's simple really. All immortals are capable of possessing other life forms, and the less powerful they are, the easier it is for us. While this is indeed a cat, the one possessing him is none other than our father," explained Belldandy, earning a slow nod from the dark haired mortal.

"That's correct. I apologize for showing up like this, but I had my reasons for concealing my true identity from most of you, since Vali already knew about me," said the possessed cat, clearing his throat before he continued. "I'm Daitenkaicho Tyr. Oh, and before you even ask, this means the leader of Heaven, Keiichi."

"The… _leader?_ Wow… I didn't know Urd had such a high ranking god for a father," said the wide eyed mortal, only to blink when Urd started to laugh. "Huh? Did I say anything funny?"

"If you find that impressive, wait to hear about my mother!" said Urd with a wink. "She's the leader of Hell, right Belldandy?"

"Yes."

'That explains a few things about her personality,' thought Keiichi with a chuckle, although he did try not to attract everyone's attention to him. After all, if this was indeed the leader of Heaven on top of Urd's father, antagonizing him in any way would be foolish. "In that case, I'm pleased to meet you, father!"

There was a short pause when everyone stared at the mortal, who also must've noticed his blunder by now but chose not to say anything more to avoid making it even worse. After a few moments, Tyr scratched his whiskers with his paw and offered him one of those grins cats were so famous of.

"Well, well… you're such a polite young man! Although, I'm not sure whether trying to butter up your potentially future father-in-law is a great idea. A few gods in here might be thinking you're attempting to cheat in order to get ahead of the competition," said Tyr, enjoying the young mechanic's worried expression.

"Yes, that's cheating alright!" said Dagaz, pointing at the mortal in question. "What happened to the whole bro code?"

"Since when did we become bros?" countered Vali, raising an eyebrow at their blonde house mate.

"Since… uh… _now!_ "

"Why won't you admit that you don't want to lose, instead of making up silly excuses?" asked Vali shaking his head with a sigh.

"Who's making silly excuses, mister _I'm meeting Urd's sister behind her back?_ " said Dagaz, pointing an accusatory finger at the blue haired god. "I can now see why you're acting all cool and collected! You've got a backup plan, just in case Urd doesn't pick you!"

" _What?..._ That's nonsense!"

While the two gods argued, Urd couldn't help but chuckle at the whole scene. "Huh… this looks something right of the soap operas I like to watch…"

"Neesan! This isn't the time to say something like that! You should be trying to stop them!"

"Oh, come on, it's almost natural for young males to compete with each other in order to attract a lady's attention. There's nothing wrong with that… _unless things get out of hand_ ," said Urd, putting a lot more emphasis at that last part to count as as hidden warning to the arguing gods who almost immediately stopped and nervously glanced over at her.

'That actually worked? And neesan didn't use spells at all? That's a new one for sure! Normally Urd would use brute force to get what she wanted, instead of such a subtle way of handling a situation. Actually… that's _my_ style!' Blinking as she tried to understand what was going on here, Belldandy had to admit that perhaps there might be something to gain from her sister's current predicament; providing that she doesn't revert to her old ways once she remembers everything.

Ignoring the curious look she was getting from her sister, Urd decided to go even further in order to diffuse this situation. "Now… where was I? Oh right, the lunch! How about we try my homemade food?"

"Sure thing Urd! I'm kind of hungry actually," said Keiichi in an attempt to sound as enthusiastic as possible, unlike the possessed cat whose ears drooped a bit.

"I don't think that warming up food in the microwaves counts as homemade," muttered Tyr, earning a dirty glare from his firstborn who didn't find his comment to be amusing at all.

"You know, I'm going to miss the days when all could say was _meow…_ Now, you're a food critic on top of a peeping tom," said Urd as she tapped her foot on the tatami floor. "After all, I need my privacy and having you watch my every move isn't very… nice. I mean… what would've happened if I decided to have a three… no… a foursome?"

The stunned and rather embarrassed audience nearly choked on their tea as soon as the bronze skinned goddess uttered those words, ending up in a coughing fit; especially Keiichi and Belldandy who weren't mentally prepared for such an immoral suggestion.

However, unlike the rest of them, Tyr remained perfectly unaffected by Urd's comment and instead he simply returned her curious expression with a stern one of his own. Extending one of his front paws, the possessed feline protracted his tiny yet sharp claws, much to his daughter's confusion as he offered no other insight as to his intentions.

"What's… that supposed to mean?"

"Cat fu."

XXX

 _The Daimakaicho's office, Niflheim_

Inside the spacious room that served as Hild's workspace from where the bronze skinned demoness ruled the realms under her direct control; yet today on top of her agenda was a matter of a more... personal nature.

Although there were some rather obvious benefits from leaving Urd in her current state of partial amnesia, Hild couldn't help but feel that as a mother, she wished for her daughter's situation to get resolved as soon as possible. As such, her primary focus was the root of the problem rather than the symptoms themselves and though she made quite some progress, it was always a risk that whatever caused it to happen in the first place could undo all that and make her go back to square one.

'Tyr said that the whole issue with her double registration is almost sorted out and Skuld had patched the System to avoid this exact problem from happening ever again, but… I still haven't really caught the one who did this. Although, given the clearance needed to pull something like that, it's not like I don't know who's behind it. I think that I've postponed this long enough already, it's time for me to get some much needed answers.'

Pressing a button in her communicator, the Daimakaicho waited for her blonde assistant and second in command to show up, almost as if she was summoned for some sort of official business. After all, catching her off guard was a far better alternative than telling her the exact reason why she called her in the first place, although Hild expected that Hagall must've prepared an explanation for her actions either way. As enthusiastic as she was, the younger demoness wasn't a complete idiot who would merely assume that her little plot would've remained a secret forever. Actually, what baffled her was just how obvious it the entire thing really was in the first place, given that it took her no time to figure out who must've been hiding behind all this.

Minutes later, the heavy and decorated door of her office swung open, revealing her second in command who offered her a respectful bow before she approached her desk. "You called for me, Hild-sama?"

"Ah… yes, that's quite correct Hagall-chan. Please take a seat, we've got much to discuss actually." Gesturing to one of the two chairs placed in front of her office, Hild watched her assistant with great interest as she acted almost as if there was nothing wrong at all. Obviously, she had personally taught her how to handle herself in such situations and maintain what mortals called a _poker face_ in order to prevent those she negotiated with from gaining too much information from her body language. Then again, it was entirely possible that she actually believed that her little plot would never be exposed and if that was the case, Hild really needed to teach her a few additional lessons; as such a display was unfitting for a high ranking demoness.

"Of course my lady. Is this about my annual fiscal report?" asked Hagall, totally unaware of her boss' intentions.

"No, I think we've already discussed that in great detail a few days ago," said Hild with a dismissive wave of her hand. "It's a little bit more of a… personal matter. About my _daughter_ , to be more specific."

"Did anything happen to her?" asked the blonde demoness, raising an eyebrow, much to her boss' surprise.

"Aside from losing her memory? No… although that amnesia thing is still a bit… annoying," said Hild, wondering if she should congratulate herself for teaching Hagall how to play dumb like that.

"Oh, my apologies… I thought that this was already old news, so I didn't assume that it was the reason you wished to talk to me," said Hagall, still showing no signs of concern in her voice.

"Well, old news or not, I want to know why you poked your nose in something that was clearly none of your business. I've learned that Urd-chan's amnesia was a case of her demonic license being activated, triggering a rather nasty response by Heaven's security systems that were never really designed to handle a scenario like that. Now, care to explain what were you trying to accomplish?"

"With all due respect my lady, but I think that the Daitenkaicho's idea of leaving Urd alone on the mortal realm for fifty years and on top of that not being allowed to use her powers, is a bit of an overkill when it comes to the so called 'serious offense' she had allegedly committed. Without a proper investigation as to who was truly responsible for that server going down, it's far _too convenient_ to wrap everything up like that and call it a user error, while in reality it might've been the designers' own fault for providing the sysops and administrators with poor quality tools to work with. Or at the very least, their incompetence to provide some decent security measures, given that we don't experience such problems; at least not as bad as they do."

"I won't argue with that, actually. Celestials really love to find convenient scapegoats to blame whenever they mess something up and it's almost standard practice for the high ranking members of their society to blame their subordinates in order to keep their own precious record spotless," said Hild with a disgusted sigh. "Still, what does that have to do with Urd?"

"But, my lady!... Don't you feel that this is rather unfair to her? Without even an investigation to prove her guilt, her _own father_ pretty much sentenced her to living like a mortal for half a century."

"I'm… aware of that and I can't say that I agree with Tyr's handling of the whole matter. Perhaps he's far too willing to prove that he's not showing any favoritism to his firstborn by going as far as to be unfair to her. Yet, leaving her amnesiac on top of all that, is hardly my idea of improving her life."

"Erasing her memories along with her prejudice against us could finally open her eyes to realize that as long as she's going to stay as a goddess, that's the kind of treatment she's going to get. If she became a demoness, her life would definitely improve as we reward those who work under us, instead of taking their allegiance for granted and on top of that, punish them for everything they do wrong."

Scratching her chin, Hild studied Hagall's expression and by the looks of it, she almost appeared to be telling the truth. Indeed, it was a plausible method of making Urd rethink her place in the world and perhaps choose to join her, instead of serving those ungrateful celestials who clearly didn't think much of her. As a matter of fact, Hild had no delusions that if it wasn't for her extended family, her daughter would've abandoned Heavens a long time ago to serve under her, where she could get the recognition she deserved. "That makes a lot of sense from Urd's perspective, although… not from yours, Hagall-chan."

"Uh… what do you mean, my lady?"

"It's a bit too good to be true for a demoness of your standing to try and recruit someone who might as well attempt to take your position in the future. While we're not as paranoid as celestials make us seem to be, I wonder if this is an attempt to flatter me in one way or another," admitted Hild after some thought.

"In all honesty… we all owe a lot to you, my lady," said Hagall lowering her head a bit, as she struggled to come up with the right words. "If it wasn't for you, we'd be still called the idiots of Niflheim, each of our group incapable to use the normal powers every other demon uses; leaving us with few prospects of getting any kind of important position for ourselves. So, me and the others wished to somehow return the favor and… this was the most likely way to do that. After all, it's the only thing you really couldn't get on your own, and I thought that it was worth giving it a shot."

That actually made Hild stare her assistant for a long time, while the latter averted her gaze out of embarrassment; a faint blush evident in her cheeks. "I… see. This might explain a few things, but… that still doesn't explain your eagerness to try and try to recruit someone who easily replace you.."

"That's not necessary, my lady," said Hagall, fidgeting around a bit, as she tried to come up with a polite way of phrasing what she wanted to say and yet, she hesitated. "May I speak freely?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Very well… I just don't think that Urd's likely to try and get my position, based on how much paperwork I have to deal on a daily basis," said Hagall, swallowing nervously after this bold proclamation.

"Are you trying to call my daughter… lazy?" asked the Daimakaicho, narrowing her eyes at her subordinate, although mostly to get a reaction from her.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to insult you!" said Hagall, leaning as far back in her chair as possible, fearing her boss wrath, although the latter started to laugh much to blonde's confusion. "Hild-sama?..."

"It's okay… I'm just messing around with you," said Hild between giggles. "But enough with that. I won't punish you for this, _however!..._ I've got a little task for you, and it involves delivering a package to someone."

"Thank you, my lady!" said Hagall, choosing to ignore the fact that there had to be a catch with that offer, given how simple it sounded; and not to mention something that it wasn't even a job for Niflheim's second in command. Of course, refusing was out of question, given the position she had found herself in, regardless of her intentions. "I promise that I won't let you down!"

"Good! Now, come with me and listen well to what I want you do. I don't want any mishaps with this one."

Smirking, the Daimakaicho motioned for Hagall to follow her as she headed out of her office and towards one of the most dreaded areas of Niflheim: The field of the sealed flowers.

XXX

 _Nekomi, Japan_

"Thank you so much for the meal, I really enjoyed it."

Offering her hosts a polite bow, Belldandy couldn't help but smile at the sight of Urd putting an effort to do something like this, whereas in the past she would've simply let her handle the troublesome details and simply focus on the booze. In some ways, it was possible that this whole situation could turn out to be a good learning experience for her sister and hoped that even after she fully recovered her memory, some of the things she learned would persist.

"No worries Belldandy. Next time, how about you bring Skuld along, too?" asked Urd as she leaned against the doorframe while her housemates stayed a few steps behind her in the resident's main hallway.

"Oh, I'll definitely do that, neesan! The poor dear really wants to see you again and now that I know that it's fine to bring her, I'll most certainly do that," said Belldandy with a big smile. "As soon as I manage to arrange for it, I'll get her on Earth."

"You do that. Hopefully by then I'll even manage to learn how to make ice-cream!" said Urd with a grin as a devious plot formed in her mind.

"There she goes again…" muttered Dagaz, worrying that once more he was going to end up as the guinea pig.

"I heard that!" said Urd, giving him a sideways glance, while Keiichi and Vali simply shook their heads.

"Oh, and before I forget…" said Belldandy in an effort to get their attention away from the poor god who simply spoke his mind. Turning to the possessed feline, the brunette goddess offered him a deep bow. "I must apologize for my actions earlier, father. That was a most vulgar and shameful display. Although…"

"Yes?" asked Tyr who was nodding his head in approval as his daughter confessed of her ill deeds, and the stopped to see what else she had to say.

"It was kind of funny in a way," said Belldandy with a giggle, that made her father narrow his eyes at her.

"No, it wasn't! If I ever witness such a…. _mrrewr…_ " started Tyr, but came to an abrupt stop when his eldest daughter rushed to her sister's help and unleashed her secret weapon: the terribly effective 'rub behind the ears' trick, which almost instantly tamed even the most fierce of felines. "Hey, cut it out, I'm not done with… _mrewwrr?... Urrrrdd!..._ "

"Quick! Run away Bell, while I've got him pinned!" laughed Urd, as she kept scratching the possessed feline who desperately tried to shake her off.

Giggling, the goddess of the present turned and headed towards her apartment, but not before she offered them one last wave while Urd and Tyr duked it out in a rather silly display of what would've been a catfight should they were both felines.

'And here I thought that my family was strange…' thought Keiichi, scratching the back of his head as he watched them interact with each other and then glanced to the two gods who were trying to look away from the spectacle; afraid that they'd end up laughing and in the process insult their ruler.

"Oh my!... It's so heartwarming to see them play like that!..."

The sudden voice interrupting the otherwise silly sounds of the quarreling father and daughter, caused everyone to look around in order to locate where exactly it came from, although there was little doubt for most of them who that was. Out of all the immortals, only one had such a playful yet sultry voice, let alone a motive to be here: Hild.

However, knowing little about the notorious Daimakaicho, Keiichi was blissfully unaware of that particular demoness' playful character and as a result he was mentally unprepared for what hit him. A shadow loomed above him and as soon as the young mortal turned around to see what was behind him, a pair of soft orbs of considerate volume were pressed against his face; whether he liked it or not.

" _Mmph?_ "

The muffled sounds of the mortal's protests caused the rest of the bystanding immortals turn to find Hild in her full glory, giving the struggling Keiichi a taste of her personal version of marshmallow hell. An experience that was further enhanced by her outfit's extremely low cut front which enabled more skin contact that would've otherwise been impossible, should the demoness was wearing something a lot more sensible.

" _Mo-Mother?_ " asked the baffled Urd, not believing her eyes. "What… do you… think you're doing?"

"Oh, this? It's called _puff puff_!" said Hild, rubbing her ample bosom against the captive mortal, whose protests started to become less and less energetic. Although whether it was due to him giving in to the titillating sensation he was receiving or… mere lack of oxygen was currently unknown.

"And you're doing that, because?..." asked Urd with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, I thought it was a good way of introducing him to the family, Urd-chan!" said Hild with a huge grin. even though her daughter didn't seem to be all that impressed.

"We're not a couple yet."

"Hm… now that you mention it, you've got a point," letting Keiichi go, which allowed the mortal to gasp for the much needed oxygen his lungs were desperate for, Hild turned to her next target. "Then… I've got to say hello to the others too!"

"You don't have to…" started Urd, only to watch her mother launch herself to her next victim, although that one provided no resistance whatsoever; the temple's harmless pervert, Dagaz. "She's not listening a thing I say…"

"Aw… you're so cute!"

Letting a tired sigh, Urd glanced over to her father who simply shook his head at Hild's antics while Keiichi was trying to recover from the lack of oxygen. "Are you feeling okay?"

But instead of the mortal, it was Dagaz the one who made an effort to reply, by giving Urd a thumbs up, much to the latter's chagrin.

"I wasn't talking about you! And try to resist a bit more, mister! I can totally tell that you're enjoying it!" snapped Urd at the blonde god, before she turned back to Keiichi, all while Vali searched for a place to hide, knowing that he was most like the Daimakaicho's next victim. "Well, Keiichi? Do you feel lightheaded or have problems breathing?"

"No, I'm fine… She just took me by surprise, that's all," said the mechanic, glancing over at Hild. "So… that's your mother? She's… energetic, to say the least."

"No kidding… A bit _too_ energetic if you ask me." Groaning as she watched Hild let go of Dagaz and search for Vali, Urd couldn't help but wonder if she was doing this on purpose. Sure, as far as she could remember Hild had a reputation of being a bit wild, but definitely not to such a degree.

And it wasn't just the half goddess who was suspicious of the Daimakaicho's antics; Tyr too thought that his ex wife was a bit too playful, a lot more that normal anyway. What seemed out of the ordinary was that this was her main body, most likely using her one thousandth avatar to pull the rest of herself without opening a large gate for her to enter the mortal realm. It was a technique frequently employed by the demonic special forces in order to infiltrate an area while attracting the least amount of attention, and given that they haven't set up any kind of warding spells around the temple, Hild had easily managed to sneak up to them just like that. As a matter of fact, even he was taken by surprise when she grabbed Keiichi and as eccentric as she was at times, Tyr really doubted that she had gotten into all that trouble just to pull a prank on them.

'What are you up to this time, Hild? I know that this isn't your typical way of messing around with others, but… the big question is what do you have in mind?'

XXX

Meanwhile at downtown Nekomi, Megumi Morisato was on a shopping trip at the market place and given her wild popularity there, she was already struggling to carry all the bags with the gifts she was offered by the shopkeepers. The college student had a reputation of offering everyone a hand whenever they had a problem with their bikes and as a way of thanking her, some of the shop owners started to give her some free samples of their wares and for a single woman who lived in a dorm, it often proved to be more than half of what she actually needed to spent the next week or so.

Also, because of her popularity, Megumi had grown accustomed to see strangers stop to talk to her about a machine of theirs that was acting up and as a result, the young student didn't pay too much attention to the foreign looking woman when she tried to talk to her.

"Excuse me miss, but can I offer you a promotional sample of my group's new single?"

Blinking, Megumi stared at the foreigner who apparently spoke perfect Japanese and without a hint of an accent. Blonde and with a rather neat looking green business suit, this woman seemed almost out of place; at least compared to the other people working for some advertising campaign.

"Do I have to pay for it?" Normally most would've found the whole setup as a bit suspicious and Megumi was no exception to that rule, and yet, her curious nature prevented her from simply making an excuse and walk away. After all, looking at the cover of the CD case the mysterious woman held in her hands, it appeared to be some kind of a heavy metal band which in general wasn't something Megumi was all that interested about.

"Oh no, not at all! This is all part of a promotional campaign, so you can have this for free!" said the blonde, trying her best smile in an effort to convince her. As much as Hagall wished to just get this over with, trying too hard could simply have the opposite effect and convince her that something fishy was going on here, although at the same time, if she didn't put enough effort, Megumi would simply leave.

Which was almost what was about to happen as the young Morisato didn't quite seem to be interested in the CD, until she realized that this woman had markings on her cheeks and while red, they reminded her of Urd. And not to mention the fact that she was a foreigner too, making this into a rather interesting coincidence. "Actually, I'll take it!"

"Thank you, miss! I hope you like our… band," said the overjoyed Hagall who knew that her job was done and without a hitch too. 'So easy… Now I need to inform Hild-sama that she no longer needs to keep them busy, since the package was delivered.'

With the Daimakaicho so close to all the celestials currently located at that temple, her energy signature was mostly masked by Hild's considerably more powerful presence. As such, it was only a trivial matter to deliver this particular sealed container to Keiichi's sister who would do the rest, albeit due to ignorance.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Huh? Yes?" The question took Hagall by surprise, though, since Niflheim's second in command wasn't expecting her to stick around once she got the CD. Instead, Megumi was still there and looking at her with an almost cat-like smile on her face. "What is it?"

"Well… I've noticed that you're not carrying any more CDs… So, I guess that was the last?"

"Uh… yes… that was the last," lied Hagall, not wanting to tell her that there were _no_ other CD, should she get suspicious by that revelation.

"Then if you're done here, how about we hit a bar? My treat of course!" said Megumi, giving the baffled demoness a wink. 'Hopefully with a glass or two, I'll find out more about her and most importantly, Urd. I mean… it's too much of a coincidence. They both have those markings and seem like foreigners. So, there's got to be a connection here.'

'Is she… hitting on me?... No way!... I'm not a… well, maybe if it was Hi-... No!' Staring at the mortal with concern rather evident in her eyes, Hagall had no idea what to do in a situation like this. It was the first time anyone was hitting on her in such a fashion and worse, she worried that saying no could upset Megumi, resulting in her throwing away the CD. Obviously that could cause all sorts of problems and having to explain why the second highest ranking demoness had failed to perform such a simple task was out of question really. Hagall had already annoyed her boss once by causing Urd's amnesia and such a poor display this soon would make her look really bad. Taking a breath to calm her nerves, the blonde demoness did her best to offer this young woman a smile before she nodded. "That… would be nice actually. It's been a while since I visited a good bar."

"Really? I know a good one nearby, so how about I drop my shopping bags at the dorm and then head there?" Taking a piece of paper she actually used to keep her shopping list, the young Morisato quickly scribbled something on it before she offered the note to Hagall. "Here, that's the bar's address. I'll meet you there in… let's say… half an hour or so?"

"Sure thing. I won't be late," said Hagall, taking a look at the note, as Megumi rushed to get to her bike in order to get this show on the road.

'Okay, seriously… What have I gotten myself into this time? Out of all the possible outcomes of meeting that guy's sister, she just _had_ to be closet lesbian and now wants a piece of me! This is getting better and better...'

Letting out a sigh, Hagall headed towards the bar and steeled herself to face whatever fate awaited her, although she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

I would also like to thank ObeliskX for the initial suggestion for a reverse harem setting that led to this story.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

The Carolina Reaper is a _very_ hot pepper. Like… _really_ hot, so their reaction to all those chilli peppers isn't exactly an exaggeration on my part. If anyone ate all that, there's 0% chance they'd feel comfortable.

Belldandy's little performance was just that, a performance. Don't take that too literally or as anything more than an attempt of concealing the fact that she and Urd are half sisters. Still, the shock value of watching her act like that, must've stirred some of Urd's memories and in a way it proved more useful than originally intended.

The field of the sealed flowers was never explicitly named in the manga, but it's the location where Hagall stored Hild's frozen form during her rebellion. Here, it's the location of another sealed demoness and given that her container is a CD, I think it's pretty obvious who she actually is.

And… as soon as the sister leaves, the mother drops by for a visit. Not to spoil anything, but if Belldandy's visit was crazy… Hild's definitely going to surpass that.


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

* * *

After what essentially turned out to be more of a party than a family reunion, the tired residents of the Tariki Hongan temple decided to call it a day and go to sleep, hoping that Urd's unruly mother would behave and not try anything funny. Well, at least nothing _too_ immoral, considering that despite been there for a couple of hours, the Daimakaicho didn't miss a chance to flirt with her daughter's housemates. And unlike Belldandy's act, there was little doubt in everyone's minds that Hild's mannerisms weren't just for show. There was a very realistic possibility that should any of them falter and give in to her advances, the bodacious demoness would introduce them to a world of pleasures to the likes of nothing they had ever experienced in their lives, and without thinking twice about it too.

It was something that even baffled Urd herself, despite how similar her mannerisms were from time to time, since the Norn of the past tried to stop herself from going too far, while Hild showed less reservations when she teased others. From Urd's perspective, her mother's actions during her visit were fairly confusing, given that it almost appeared as if the demoness was trying to piss her daughter off on purpose. Which… seemed a rather counterintuitive thing to do, unless of course there was a reasoning behind all this madness.

'Is she trying to get a reaction out of me? See which one I favored the most by making me feel jealous? That… could explain a few things to be honest and something I might've done if my sisters were in this position. Hm… I never thought it was _this_ annoying to be on the receiving end though.'

Casting a glance over her shoulder to her mother's futon, Urd felt her hair stand up when she realized that it was empty. At some point through the night, Hild must've slipped out of her room where the half goddess insisted she should remain and on in instant, Urd's mind was nearly overwhelmed by all the potential scenarios of what might've taken place while she was asleep.

Without hesitation, she shot up from her own futon and started for the hallway, hoping that it wasn't far too late. That despite the head start she got, the Daimakaicho didn't manage to seduce everyone, and in her panic Urd had totally forgotten about her state of undress. Stepping out of her room with only a flimsy trunk top and her black and purple panties as a means to provide her some modesty, the half goddess realized that something was amiss only after she saw Keiichi while he headed to take his morning shower.

"Good mo-... _Whoa! What are you wearing Urd?_ "

 _That_ made her pause for a moment and check herself, but even then, Urd refused to admit what the true reason behind her attire was, given that she might appear as if she was too insecure in the face of real competition. Few women here on Nekomi could match her body and this gave Urd an air of superiority, although the same couldn't be said with some immortals; her mother in particular. "Hm… I think the real question is what I'm _not_ wearing, Keiichi. Sorry about that, but I'm in a hurry. Have you seen my mother, by the way?"

"Um… I think that she's in the kitchen?" said the mechanic as a blush formed on his cheeks. "Although I didn't get too close, since… well…"

"Out with it! What did she offer?" snapped Urd, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously.

"Nothing! She's just wearing… _even less_ than you right now and after yesterday's party, I'm not too comfortable to get close to her without anyone else present in the room. Just in case."

In all seriousness calling yesterday's event a _party_ was a bit of a stretch by anyone's definition of the word. Although it did start like one, it was Urd's suggestion to have a karaoke contest that totally derailed everything. While not being an essential appliance, they actually bought a karaoke machine to provide themselves with some entertainment and this turned out to be perfect opportunity they've been waiting for to use it. In theory at least.

Because in practice, once the three male contestants had finished with their songs, Urd took over and to spice things up she also took off her top, leaving herself with her lacy purple bra, much to her father's chagrin. Perhaps that was an attempt to establish who was in charge here, however, her mother's response was both fast and utterly brutal, as she tugged her dress lower without much of a second thought. And given how that thing was one single piece of fabric, Hild was left standing there in just her underwear. Even worse, since the demoness didn't wear a bra and her panties were so minimalistic that barely provided any real coverage, things got real for sure.

And given Urd's pride, it didn't took her long to end up in a similar state of undress, despite Tyr's futile protests, as everyone else was far too stunned to offer any sort of comment. Yet despite all that, the competition went on, forcing Vali and Keiichi to a hasty retreat. Feeling that this had little to do with singing and more with undressing, the two men left the living room to avoid giving both mother and daughter any incentives to carry on with their antics. Once a fed up Tyr joined them in the kitchen, the trio set up a game of poker instead, although they soon realized that they were one man… or rather god short and almost like an angry mob, they went back and dragged a protesting Dagaz out of there.

"I… don't blame you. Things _may_ had gotten a bit out of hand yesterday," admitted the half goddess, feeling that even that was a gross understatement. "Look, um… go take a bath and I'll deal with my mother in the meantime."

"That's not what worries me, Urd. It's the potential of her following us around and… causing a scene like that over at Whirlwind."

Scratching her chin, Urd had to admit that he had a point there. With this taking place so close to their trip at the hot springs, she felt that calling to ask Chihiro for another day off was a bit too much. "I hate to admit this but… you're right. If mom shows up there, we're going to end up in the news. Actually…"

"Yes? You've got an idea?" asked Keiichi, noticing the devious look on her face.

"Call Megumi and ask her a favor! You know… pretend that she desperately needs our help with something. Don't know what, but… anything would suffice really."

"That's good and everything, but… how am I going to explain her the situation?" protested Keiichi, knowing that she had given him an almost impossible task. "Megumi's antics may be silly at times, but she's not an idiot. There's no way I can just make her cooperate without telling her what's going on."

"Just say that we want to… go for a date," said Urd with a shrug, although judging by Keiichi's frown, it was unlikely to work.

"Now _that's_ going to make her ask a lot _more_ questions that we can probably provide answers for, Urd."

"Do you have any better ideas? Because if you do, then don't be shy; share them!"

Keiichi's shoulders slumped as he scratched his head, trying to come up with another alternative, but in vain. Sure, his sister owned him a few favors but asking something like that in return didn't sound right to him. In the end, as problematic Urd's idea was, Keiichi started to think that this might've been the easiest way out of their predicament.

"Okay… you win. I'll call her and ask for help. Let's hope she won't ask _too many_ questions."

Walking up to the old school rotary phone, Keiichi dialed in his sister's number and hoped that she was still in the dorm, since it wasn't unusual for her to go for a ride with her green KSR early in the morning before her classes started; something that he also did with his Beemer too, back when he was still a student.

'Okay… here goes nothing…'

XXX

 _NIT's second all female dorm, Nekomi_

Rolling around her western style bed, Megumi found it almost impossible to wake up after yesterday's visit to that bar. Unused to alcohol, it didn't take long before she realized that her plan was flawed from the very beginning and in all seriousness, she wasn't even sure _how_ she got back to her room. Everything past the second cocktail was covered by a misty blanket of colors, sounds and sensations that made almost no sense to the young student and at the very least, Megumi was happy that she was drinking with a woman instead of a guy.

'Heh… this reminds me of those movies where the main characters have a couple of drinks and then end up in… bed… toge-...'

The young Morisato's thoughts came to a screeching halt when she felt a shift next to her, followed by a content sigh as a very relaxed and totally naked Hagall turned around in her sleep. This… spectacle caused Megumi to sweat bullets as she started to realize that perhaps things like that didn't just happen in movies, but in real life too. And while this wasn't a guy she slept with, the brunette didn't know whether doing _that_ with another girl was less innocent either.

'Calm down… Calm down… Calm… _How am I supposed to calm down?!_ '

Feeling the sudden shift next to her as Megumi backed away from the naked blonde, Hagall opened her eyes and inspected her surroundings, although with far less distress than the mortal next to her.

"Good morning. What time is it?"

Staring her with wide eyes, Megumi could hardly believe her ears at how casual Hagall sounded. Almost as if the whole situation was absolutely normal and the fact that she made no effort to hide her body, caused the student to turn into an even deeper shade of red than she already was.

"Good morning? That's all you've got to say? I mean… what's going on here?"

"Uh… isn't it obvious by looking at us?" asked Hagall, looking around for her favorite bow, and to a certain degree the rest of her clothes too. "Have you seen my…"

Reaching down to the floor, Megumi grabbed the demoness' green frilly panties and nearly tossed them to her, not wanting to hold onto them for longer than necessary. "Here!... I cannot see your bra, though…"

"I wasn't wearing one to be honest. My top has an integrated one, so I don't need anything extra," said Hagall with a perfectly calm and casual manner while putting her lingerie on. "I hope you're feeling a lot better now, though. Last night was a bit too much for you to handle."

" _Too much?_ " Megumi's jaw nearly dropped while she peered under the covers to verify what she already knew but her mind refused to accept; she too was totally naked. "What _did_ we do last night?!"

"Not anything as enjoyable as I'd prefer, sadly. After you tried to get me tipsy and ended up getting yourself drunk, I had to carry you back here and offer my assistance while you… paid tribute to the porcelain throne," said Hagall screwing her nose in disgust as she recalled some of the more graphic parts of what took place the last night. "Then, I had to wash our clothes and finally decided to hit the bed, long after you had fallen asleep."

"You know… somehow the idea of having sex sounds… better than that," muttered Megumi, as she too didn't find that story too appealing either.

"No kidding! You mortals and your body functions… _Eww…_ I really hope I don't have to go through that ever again."

 _Mortals_. That was a word she recalled from their conversation at the bar, although they never got too far and allow Megumi to learn more about the enigmatic blonde other than her name; let alone a possible connection between her and Urd. Still, even though she was a foreigner, she spoke Japanese too fluently to explain why she referred to others around her in such a bizarre manner; meaning that it wasn't just an error.

"Yeah… sorry about that, Hagall. I love to drive my bike, so I don't drink very often and… well… you saw."

Before the blonde could respond, the phone started to ring all of a sudden and given her state of undress, Megumi was reluctant to get up and answer it. Because of that, it was Hagall the one who went and picked it up, much to the caller's initial confusion.

"Hello, this is Megumi's place."

"I know, but… who are _you?_ " asked Keiichi, before he palmed himself, remembering that his sister was living in a dorm; something he too had done in the past. "Oh, are you one of her dorm mates?"

However, the reply was far too bizarre for Keiichi's liking and raised more questions than providing any answers. "No, not really. We just slept together."

" _EH?!_ "

" _Wait! Gimme that!_ " Wrapping the bed covers around her, Megumi dashed for the phone and almost tripped along the way but eventually managed to wrestle the earpiece from the demoness, before this turned into a huge misunderstanding. " _It's not like that, Kei-chan!_ '

"Uh… huh… If you say so, Megumi," was Keiichi's somewhat stunned reply, as he wasn't sure what was going on over there. "Maybe a friend staying over for the night?"

" _Yeah…_ something like that, actually," said Megumi in the most innocent tone she could muster. "Anyways… is there something I can do for you?"

'She's totally trying to get me to hang up as soon as possible.' Feeling that this was a bit atypical of his sister, Keiichi made a mental note to find out what this was all about later, but for now his priority was to deal with Hild. "Um… I was wondering if you could cover me… I really need to do something and I'm reluctant to ask Chihiro for another day off without a reason. I mean… I do have a reason, but I don't want to get Chihiro involved and I hoped you could say that you needed… um… help?"

"Say, are you trying to tell me that I'm about to become an aunt, Kei-chan?" asked the suspicious Megumi, scratching her head.

" _No!_ We haven't done… _that!_ " Blushing profoundly as his brain was about to come to a halt, Keiichi struggled to come up with a response but it took him long enough that in the end Urd decided to grab the receiver from him, her patience already running thin.

"Look Megumi, we've got an opportunity for nice date," said Urd giving Keiichi a withering glare to prevent any arguments about her story. "It's an invitation for a lunch for two in some fancy restaurant, but it's for today only, so…"

"Oh, gotcha! I have to tell Chihiro that you're not available, because I need help with… assembling a new wardrobe I got."

"Thanks, you're a lifesaver Me-..." started Urd when the doorbell rang and not wanting to hang up so abruptly, the bronze skinned goddess turned to her side. "Can you see who it is, Keiichi?"

"You've got guests?" asked Megumi from the other end of the line.

"Nah… it's probably the mailman bringing us more bills to pay," laughed Urd.

"The fun part of living on your own, huh? Well, in that case, I'll have to call Chihiro do my part."

"Thanks again Megumi! You're the best!" said a smiling Urd, as she set the receiver on the old telephone. Letting out a sigh of relief now that they had the perfect excuse to stay home and make sure Hild behaved, the half goddess turned to Keiichi only to find him staring at a piece of paper in wonder. "What is it? Did they overcharge us or something?"

"No… it's… not a bill," said the astonished mechanic as he read the letter for the umpteenth time and still couldn't believe his eyes. "We're invited for lunch at a fancy hotel…"

"Eh? Come again?" asked the equally surprised Urd who _knew_ that this couldn't be just a coincidence. Feeling that there was only one possible explanation, she looked over her shoulder and spotted her mother peeking out of the kitchen's door with a smile on face that left no doubt who was behind this. " _Mom! What do you think you're doing?_ "

"Who, me? Oh, much at all!... Just making sure that not everything my daughter says is a _lie_ ," said Hild in a playful yet surprisingly caustic tone that made Urd back off almost immediately. "Besides… after getting into all that trouble to make sure that I wouldn't misbehave in front of your mortal friends, you might as well go ahead and enjoy your day off, right?"

"Uh…"

"I mean… it's not like I'm so silly to just walk around in a negligee or something like that!" said Hild in her typically over dramatic tone, much to her daughter's annoyance.

"I wish you wore even _that_ much…" muttered Urd, feeling a vein pop in her forehead as she watched her mother parade around in the same lingerie she wore since she wore last night before she went to bed.

"Touche, dear. You're just jealous that mama still got it," said Hild, offering her daughter and her dark haired house mate a playful wink as the buxom demoness leaned slightly forward, causing her bountiful chest to stretch the front of her crop top to its limit, much to Keiichi's embarrassment. "See? He _loves_ the view… Right, Keiichi-kun?"

Gritting her teeth, Urd gave the aforementioned mortal a glare that promised pain and suffering should he dared to reply, and then she turned her attention back to her mother. "You're supposed to be the one reminding me not to act like this, not the other way around, mom! What's the big deal, anyway? If you still got it, then why don't you get a boyfriend of your own, instead of tempting mine?"

"Oh, dear! I didn't know that he was your _boyfriend!_ " said Hild with an innocent tone, despite the rather evident grin on her face, knowing that she had her daughter cornered now. "I thought that he, along with the other two were just friends... Well, in that case I believe that having lunch together will be a perfect setting for your first date."

"We're not dating! It's just that… anyone would accept a free invitation to such a classy restaurant!" protested Urd, despite the barely noticeable blush on her cheeks.

"Uh… huh… Very well, then. In that case, I won't get in your way," said Hild, giving them a wink as she turns and starts for the kitchen. "Just have fun you two!"

Narrowing her eyes at her mother, while Keiichi averted his to avoid looking at the Daimakaicho's mostly exposed bottom, Urd couldn't help but feel that something was off here.

'Hm… she gave up too easily in my opinion. She must have something in mind, but what?'

XXX

 _NIT's second all female dorm, Nekomi_

"Well, that solved one problem..."

Convincing Chihiro actually proved to be a lot easier than Megumi initially feared. Apparently, the shrewd businesswoman had a backup plan in case she was in need for some help and reassured her that everything was fine. Although Megumi didn't think that Tamiya and Otaki counted as a passable replacement for her brother, given how difficult they were to deal with at times, it was good to know that this little scheme wouldn't affect Whirlwind for the most part.

"Now to solve the other one…"

Looking over her shoulder, the now fully clothed Megumi wondered just where this blonde got that dress from, since she certainly didn't remember her wearing this yesterday. Hagall had changed into her favorite green and black dress with the asymmetric skirt that was far shorter up front compared to the back. Still, it was a rather peculiar choice of clothing compared to what most people would actually wear and even more, she didn't recall her carry any bags with her yesterday.

"Is there something on my face?" asked Hagall, noticing Megumi's intense stare, although in reality she did have an idea of what the whole problem really was, but quickly started to form a plan to keep her around for a bit longer.

"Well… my brother is apparently going to take his housemate out for a date, so I wanted to tail them," said Megumi in an effort to get around the subject. "And that means I need to leave the dorm, so…"

"I get it… Although do you have any idea where they're going out for a date?" asked Hagall with a grin, knowing that the brunette had no way of answering that question.

"Not really, but if I hurry, I might get to the Nekomi Ridge before Keiichi does. It's not like there are too many paths he can take to get down from that mountain temple he's living in."

"It's possible, yet I hardly consider this to be a foolproof plan," said Hagall as he grin became much bigger. "I, on the other hand can tell you where exactly he's heading to, so you can get there before he does."

"Wait a moment!... How do you know that?" asked Megumi, finding it very hard to accept that this woman knew all that information for no particular reason. Even more, she found it really bizarre that Hagall wanted to help her without an obvious benefit from the whole situation; unless she missed something here.

"While you were talking to your brother, I received a text from my boss informing me that she made a reservation for two in a classy restaurant, so I assumed that this is the couple she was referring to," said Hagall, producing a mobile phone from her dress for the mortal to see. "After all, your brother's girlfriend is called Urd, right? Or am I mistaken?"

'Is she working for an intelligence agency or something? A CD promoter who owns a fancy dress and knows so much about Urd? _Yeah… that's totally normal._ ' Despite her reservations, Megumi was certain that if nothing else, hanging around this woman could eventually provide her with some answers. "Alright, you convinced me. Let's get going then!"

"Oh, we will, but first let's get you dressed for the occasion. After all they won't let us enter if we show up in something too casual and you don't even have to worry about a thing! I'll get you something nice!" said Hagall and then started to type something on her phone, leaving a suspicious Megumi stare at her in wonder.

'This is getting stranger and stranger… It's almost like a spy novel or something. Now I'm _really_ interested.'

XXX

Standing before the restaurant, Keiichi checked the black suit he was wearing, to make sure that it still looked good on him. After all, it's something he bought a while ago after his graduation and during the most nerve wracking period of his life when he was looking for a job and therefore wanted to give a good first impression to his potential employers. In the end it didn't prove all that useful and soon Keiichi forgot that he even owned it once he started working at Whirlwind; but it seemed to be ideal for this occasion.

Helping Urd out of the cab, since it would've been hard to ride a bike while wearing such formal attires, Keiichi had to admit that she was absolutely stunning. Her cream white strapless dress contrasted her caramel bronze skin perfectly and furthermore, her choice of jewelry just enhanced the goddess' looks even more.

"So this is the place mother picked for us? Hm… not too shabby… What do you think Keiichi?"

"Nice…" was all the mortal could say, although in reality he was actually referring to her tight fitting dress that hugged every curve of her enticing body.

"For once, I'd agree with that. So, shall we get inside and check what's on the menu?" asked Urd, making Keiichi snap out of it and right on time too, before she noticed that he was staring at her.

"Oh, sure thing, Urd! Right after you!"

XXX

"That's your boss? She looks exactly like... _Urd!_ "

Staring at one particular individual sitting across the restaurant, Megumi who was accompanied by Hagall couldn't help but stare at what could easily pass as Urd's sister. The younger Morisato had to use an old dress of hers to even make it through the door as casual wear was frowned upon here. Yet despite that, her attire really looked as if it was brand new, most likely because she rarely if ever used the simple, black velvet gown her mother insisted to get her last year, just in case she got in a situation like this.

Although she suspected that there was some connection between Hagall and Urd, this other woman proved to be a much more likely case, since she was virtually identical to the amnesiac foreigner; leaving only one possibility. "Are those two related?"

Giggling at how obvious Megumi's question was, Hagall knew that it was probably for the best if she heard about this now, rather than later; much… much later. "That goes without saying, since the family resemblance is a bit too hard to ignore. Although, their exact connection may surprise you, given how young my lady looks like; from your perspective at least."

"My _perspective?_ " To say that none of this made any sense to her would've been an understatement by now, given how strange the whole situation was. Instead of finding any answers, Megumi was plagued by even more questions she had before coming here and all this mystery surrounding everything around Urd made the mortal girl doubt that her story was true too. "Okay, what's going on here? I get that you want to sound so mysterious and everything, although at this point I'm kind of lost here. Call me an idiot if you want, but I sure wouldn't mind a more simple explanation."

"I can definitely offer you just that…" said Hagall with a content grin, knowing that she had both the girl's attention and some information worth haggling for. "However, information comes at a price, you know."

"Huh? You want money?" asked the curious mortal as she wasn't entirely certain what she was getting into.

"No, not money. That's pretty much useless to me. In reality, I'd like something more… tangible, like... your cooperation. Don't look at me like that, it's not anything shady, I promise," reassured Hagall noticing the rather concerned look she was getting from Megumi. "It's just that, my lady wishes for Urd to find a nice boyfriend and your brother seems to be a great candidate. So, if you help the situation by accepting Urd, despite some… shortcomings she may have, we would be very happy and probably owe you a little bit of a favor too; especially me, since I kind of got Hild-sama angry with me and I was hoping to find a way to make up for it."

" _Hild-sama?_ Wow, what kind of businesswoman has such a title attached to her name?" asked the surprised brunette, stealing a glance at the Daimakaicho. "And by the way… Who's that blonde with her?"

"Oh, that's a god called Dagaz," said Hagall dismissively. "I bet she brought him along to avoid looking suspicious while she spies on her daughter."

" _God? Daughter?_ I'm… not sure I'm following you," said Megumi, looking even more lost than before, given the absurdity of such claims.

"Well, that's part of the reason I didn't want to tell you everything all at once. Even in the best case scenario you wouldn't believe me, and in the worst case… I suppose I might end up scaring you. Which could potentially make Hild-sama even more upset with me, something that I'd rather not have at the time being. The real question is whether you can handle the truth or wish to live blissfully unaware of what's really going on here," said Hagall, making a dramatic pause to judge the girl's reaction.

In all honesty, Megumi was starting to worry at this point. Everything about this seemed to be so bizarre and mysterious that she wondered just what sort of weirdos did she run into, and worse… if Urd was feigning her amnesia to get rid of those lunatics. There were all kinds of crazy cults one could get involved with and the fact that her brother may have somehow got in the middle of something like that, scared her. Still, before she overreacted and jumped to early conclusions, Megumi wanted to hear the whole story. "Alright… why don't you tell me everything from the beginning?"

"I'm afraid that could take us several hours, so I'll give you the basics and then answer any questions you may have. Providing that it's not some restricted topic, of course."

XXX

Sipping from her glass, Hild enjoyed the red wine as she patiently waited for her daughter and Keiichi to finally arrive at the restaurant. At the very least, it seems that in the meantime, Hagall had managed to contact Megumi and with that done, things could become really interesting, as the brunette's involvement could either prove to be a brilliant move by her assistant or yet another blunder like the one she already pulled with Urd's license. In all honesty it was a gamble and one that could backfire quite spectacularly, but at the same time, Hild knew that as long as Keiichi's sister was left in the dark, her brother would be rather reluctant to get into a relationship with Urd, fearing the consequences of exposing Megumi to the world of the immortals. So in the end, she did authorize Hagall's actions and allowed her to go on with that idea, but not before reminding her that this would go down her personal record if it ended up backfiring.

Even more interesting though was going to be Tyr's eventual reaction once his patience runs out, as he kept spying on her and the unfortunate god who tagged along, totally unaware of the dirty look the possessed feline was giving him. Apparently the lord of the gods wasn't immune to such basic feelings like jealousy, and while it didn't surprise Hild one bit, it was kind of enjoyable to give him a little taste of what she felt ages ago. Even though she supported Ansuz as his second wife, it would've been a lie to say that she didn't envy her, and the worst part was that Tyr thought that he was in the exact same position as her. So, this was a great chance to let him see how wrong his assumptions were by reversing the roles and hopefully make him appreciate the restraint and maturity she displayed during the last few centuries, instead of taking such things for granted.

"How's the wine, _dear?_ "

It took all her willpower not to laugh at the silly expression on the god's face the moment he heard her call him 'dear' even if it was clearly not a real proclamation of affection and simply an attempt to sound polite. Still, the young god was grinning like an idiot and scratched his head in an almost comical fashion, trying to come up with a proper response. All while the faint sound of a cat grinding his claws against the carpet could be heard not far from their table.

"Oh, it's nice and has such… umm… great… volume?" said Dagaz in a failed attempt to express what he really thought, much to Hild's amusement.

"Are you talking about the wine or my assets, dear? Don't worry, I like it when boys make compliments about my bust, so feel free to speak out your mind and if you play your cards right…" said Hild with a wicked grin, watching the blonde god swallow hard as he unwittingly glanced at her chest. "I might actually let you touch a bit."

Choking on his own saliva, Dagaz could hardly believe what he was hearing. At least, until he remembered similar offers from Urd and in all those cases it turned out to be a practical joke of sorts. "F-For… r-real? Your daughter said that a few times, but..."

"Are you implying that I, the Daimakaicho herself makes empty promises? Urd may love to tease and so do I, but unlike her, I don't want to make fun of others all the time, since it's bad for business. After all, how do you expect anyone to take you seriously if they expect you to betray them. Trust is something extremely valuable to us demons and key for every negotiation," said Hild, taking a sip from her glass. "So, my offer stands, as long as you don't make a fool of yourself… you could give me a nice pat. Or even more..."

Nodding vigorously, as he didn't trust himself to offer a verbal reply, Dagaz noticed Hild's gaze shift from him and towards the restaurant's main entrance where Urd and a rather bashful Keiichi stood in front of the maitre d, who tried to find a nice spot for them to sit. And by the looks of it, that spot happened to be the table right next to theirs.

'Oh this is going to be _fun!.._ '

Just as the Daimakaicho predicted, Urd immediately came to a stop when she spotted just _who_ was on the next table and following her gaze, Keiichi's face suddenly lost its color. Looking around, he was horrified to see just how many patrons were currently in the restaurant… that could easily turn into a battlefield with all those innocent souls caught in the crossfire.

"What the Hell do you think _you're_ doing here?" asked Urd, narrowing her eyes at her grinning mother, before turning to Dagaz who just realized that he was in _deep_ trouble. "And you! Trying your luck with my _mom?_ Do you have no shame?"

"Aw, come on Urd-chan! Don't be so mean to mommy! I wanted to have some fun too!" said Hild, interrupting her daughter before she scared the blonde god too much. "It's been ages since I had a nice meal like this and poor Dagaz was a perfect gentleman so far. Now, stop glaring at him like that, and enjoy your launch with Keiichi-kun."

"Gr… Fine! But it I see a hand touch anything..." said the goddess, making a slicing motion across her neck while staring at Dagaz, who leaned further back on his chair. "Got me? I want both your hands on the table where I can see them, mister!"

Then as she was about to turn and head back the table, Hild decided that it was too soon to let her daughter go and let out a cheerful squeal, much to everyone's surprise. "Yay, footsies! It's been a long time since I…"

" _You're going to do that, either!_ " barked Urd as she looked over her shoulder and glared at her mother, who by the looks of it was having a blast. Plopping on her chair in a rather unladylike fashion, the grumbling goddess picked up the menu and went through its pages, with Keiichi following her example in silence.

The young mechanic had no desire to add more fuel to the fire, by making any comments that could set her off and turn the whole building into a pile of rubble. "Hm… I think I'll try the stir fried noodles with pork. What about you, Urd?"

"Same. Although get me some good sake with it," was all Urd could offer at the time being, her brow still twitching in annoyance from having to deal with her mother. Although she was certain that she loved her, still part of her wanted to give the plotting Daimakaicho a sharp kick on her backside. 'Ugh! I can't believe the nerve of… I mean, even _I_ am not _that_ bad! Okay, maybe that's where I got it from, but still…'

Glancing over their table, Urd saw Hild give her a cutesy wave, causing the goddess to turn the other way, cursing under her breath as she stomped her heel on the floor. And for a moment, the goddess could've sworn that she heard a faint meow from underneath the table.

XXX

"She's a _goddess?_ "

"Yes, think that's what I said." Looking at the incredulous mortal, Hagall knew all too well how difficult it could be to convince anyone that the story they've just heard was true. Although it was merely a _very_ short version of what was going on, it proved to be more than what Megumi was mentally prepared for and as such, she had her reservations.

"Next thing I'll hear is that you're all _aliens_ or something." Taking a swing from her glass of red wine, the younger Morisato wondered how this woman ever managed to come up with such an unbelievable story in the first place. It was almost something out of a novel or a manga, but certainly not what one would've expected as a proper explanation for Urd's origins and nature.

"You know… under the most literal definition of the word, we _are_ extraterrestrials, in the sense that none of us was born on Earth," mused Hagall, but then simply shook her head, dismissing such thoughts as unimportant. "However, I don't believe that we fit the description of what most humans refer to when they use that term. Anyways, I can see the doubt in your eyes and quite honestly I'm certain that you're not going to just take my word for it and accept such incredible claims. If we were in a more private setting I could offer you a few examples of spells and otherwise impossible feats that no mortal is capable of performing. Yet, I'd rather not do something like that here, although I'm fairly certain that if you persist, your brother will eventually agree to let Urd provide you the evidence you need."

"And you, along with your boss are demonesses?" As much as she didn't want to believe her, Megumi found that the way she explained this whole situation sounded too honest to be a complete fabrication; unless she was an incredible actress or a complete lunatic. Either way, her reassurances that Keiichi and Urd could back such claims made Megumi wish to learn more, before dismissing it as a joke.

"Once again, that's correct. As you realize that simply means Urd is a half goddess and the whole thing is a bit of long story, so you'll have to excuse me if I decline to share it at the moment. That, and I'd rather not go behind Hild-sama's back discussing such topics without her knowing about it. Yet it explains why she's got such a complicated relationship with her mother, and above all… her own problems at figuring out her place in the world," explained Hagall, as she eyed towards the half goddess in question, making Megumi follow her glance. "Which is why I'm interested to have you aid Keiichi in his attempts to court her, since he's the most neutral option for courting a half goddess like her. Not that we're going to have a problem if she chooses one of the other two gods, but… I think that your brother would be an ideal candidate."

"Hm… I see." It was such a crazy story that Megumi had honestly no idea what else to say at the moment. Any real evidence would have to wait until she could talk to Keiichi and Urd, but as Hagall pointed out, this was hardly the place for a conversation like this. "Well. if she's honestly interested in my brother then I see no problem, but the whole… picking someone of the lot kind of… rubs me a bit off."

"It's merely a possibility given her current situation, not a popularity contest or something along those lines. Urd ended up living with three men and to be fair, I won't simply jump to the conclusion that she's going to date the first guy she met here on Earth for no other reason than that. But... to say that she's setting up a competition for her heart would be inaccurate too; rather, it's more likely that she's got no idea how to proceed from this point on. Based on past observations, this is the point where she grinds to a standstill and fails to choose _any_ option or simply goes with a random one, but… I believe that with a little bit of help, she might reach a more well thought decision about her love life and that person might as well be you," explained Hagall, much to the mortal's surprise.

"Me? Why would she listen to _me_ , instead of… her mother or even her sisters. She does have two of them, right?" asked Megumi, trying to recall what she's been told a couple of minutes ago. "Those should be the best candidates to advise her!"

Leaning back on her chair, Hagall used her lessons in diplomacy to approach the subject from just the right angle to eliminate any opposition and make the mortal see things her way. After all, for Niflheim's second in command, convincing a single woman should've been pretty trivial and in the long run, she hoped that her efforts would appease Hild, making her forget about her… blunder. "That's what you may think. Yet in a situation like this, their background might influence their choice and Urd knows about it, meaning that while she's going to listen to their opinion, it's doubtful whether she follows such counsel or not. On the other hand… you're an outsider and while you do happen to be Keiichi's sister, that could be a good thing in such a case. After all, you wouldn't want your brother to date someone not suitable for him, right?"

"Alright… you convinced me," said Megumi with a sigh as she saw that either way, talking to Urd was probably the best choice anyway. "But it's a lot to think about, so I'm not going to talk to her today; I need some time to absorb all that."

"I understand. There's no need to rush things and complicate the situation even further. However, how about we enjoy this lunch and relax a bit? It must be all too confusing for you right now," said Hagall, motioning for the waiter to approach, while Megumi offered her a nod.

"Yeah… I definitely need to drink something…"

XXX

Thankfully, no significant drama took place as the two couples enjoyed their lunch. Except for the occasional glance between mother and daughter, the two of them managed to remain civil and avoid any mishaps that would've most certainly escalated beyond their control.

To everyone present, it appeared that the Daimakaicho's behavior was playing a bit of a dangerous game, but in all seriousness, her motives couldn't be more different. Instead of a game, the demoness wanted to provide the perfect distraction for both Urd and Keiichi, denying them the opportunity to get too self conscious about this whole set up being too similar to a date. Given how shy the young mechanic was, Hild had no delusions that he needed a little bit of help to overcome his reservations and in this case, by keeping his mind preoccupied, he acted as if everything was normal and they were just having a nice lunch together.

Yet, as demoness, it was within her nature to search for all possible problems that could arise from a situation like this. Aside from Keiichi, there was also Urd's other two housemates who also seemed to be attracted by her daughter and while they were all getting along nicely, things could definitely change once Urd started to show a lot more interest towards one of them. Males were territorial by nature and as a result, once the half goddess decided to get into a relationship with one, the others could get jealous and in the long run become a source of all kind of problems, especially given how sensitive Urd was.

Despite her carefree and playful personality, the Norn of the past wasn't the kind of goddess who didn't care about those around her and if she became the source of their pain, it was unlikely to simply ignore about it. What Hild feared was that to keep everyone happy and content, Urd would end up maintaining the status quo for as long as possible, until one after the other they would get the hint and give up. Only then she might pick the last one who still persisted, but that also came with a great danger, as it was in essence a gamble. If they all waited for too long, then it was possible for all of them to get bitter and refuse to date her, thinking that she never gave them a fair chance or worse, she simply had her fun stringing them along until they reached their limits.

However, Urd wasn't the only one to blame for her apparent lack of determination. Aside from her current situation that created a lot of uncertainty about her memories and even as to how long she was going to stay on the mortal realm, Urd had a history of bad relationships that definitely left their mark in her soul. Given how many times her daughter got burnt by all kinds of idiots who either tried to have some fun and then run away or were outright morons in the first place. Especially her latest boyfriend who turned out to be a talentless hack of a musician with an ego bigger than his stupid head. Yet as much as Hild wanted to show him what she _really_ thought about his attempts to keep Urd 'loyal' and eliminate all competition by cursing them, the Daimakaicho knew all too well that given how tense her relationship with her daughter was, such a direct intervention to her personal life would only cause more harm than good.

'At least Keiichi-kun is a lot smarter than that idiot. Sure, he may lack in terms of confidence, but… he's far from hopeless. With a little effort, I think they're going to make a nice couple. After all, Urd needs someone to keep her from doing all kinds of stupid things, yet without being a total control freak in the process.'

Pleased with her observations so far, Hild wondered about her next step. As much as she wanted to force them to tag along for a date of sorts, it was unlikely for Urd or even… Tyr to just sit there and watch her go on a date with a much younger god. Regardless of which one of them reacted first, the potential for turning the reunion with her daughter into a huge fiasco was something that the Daimakaicho wished to avoid. There was a fine line between teasing and outright infuriating someone, especially when a sensitive and rather insecure goddess like Urd was concerned.

As such, Hild wished to avoid pushing her luck too far by seemingly flirt around with Dagaz and instead turned to her daughter who was right behind her as the four of them walked out of the restaurant.

"Fancy hitting a bar, Urd-chan?"

"Huh?" It was such an unexpected request that the half goddess had to blink, before she gave her mother a puzzled look. "Didn't you have enough wine already? I don't want to carry you back home..."

"You think that your mother's a _lightweight?_ Oh, that's _so_ rich!" said Hild cackling like a madwoman, much to everyone's surprise. "I can outdrink you any day, little girl!"

"Is that challenge? Because if you're paying, then you've found yourself a worthy opponent," said the grinning Urd as she put a brave face on, once she actually realized her folly. This was probably where she got her taste of booze from and it was extremely unlikely for her to beat her in a drinking contest.

"Brave words, daughter… But I like your determination! Let's do it then!" said Hild, returning Urd's grin with one of her own, making both Keiichi and Dagaz share a worried expression.

"If they _both_ get drunk…" said the blonde god, his face turning as white as paper, while the mortal mechanic could only nod.

"That's going to be a _bad_ day; a _very_ bad one, actually. We must get the others here before this escalates out of all control and they blow the place up or something. If Urd can make so much damage on her own, I'd hate to see what her mother is capable of."

XXX

"Mead? They even have something like that here? Okay, I'll admit that I'm impressed."

Eying at the glass with the once popular drink, Urd had to admit that this wasn't just a visit to your average bar. Instead, the one her mother picked for them was much higher class establishment and a pretty expensive one too; catering to the needs of the more demanding clientele. As a matter of fact, both of them were still wearing their dresses from before, since formal attire was needed to pass through the front door.

"Now, now… Urd-chan, you'd think that I'd take you to a cheap bar in some dark alley?" said Hild as they strode towards a table, considering that the Daimakaicho wished for some privacy and as such, avoid the barkeep from listening in to their conversation, along with any other customer. "What's next? Try to get a couple of boys for a quick foursome? I'm all in for some bonding, but… that's a bit too far, don't you think?"

"That's so obvious that I won't even bother commenting," said Urd with a snort, only to make her mother tease her as she apparently found a topic too spicy for her daughter's taste.

"Oh? Worried that mamma will get all the attention to herself?" asked Hild as she nudged Urd, only to receive a rather pointed glare.

"No… it's just plain awkward even by _my_ standards. Although, as you said, this isn't about picking random guys," said Urd, in an effort to change the topic, before her mother had the opportunity to tease her too much. "So, why did you _really_ bring me here, mom?"

"Honestly?" Letting out a sigh as she took a seat opposite of her daughter, Hild offered the stunned goddess one of her rare smiles. "I just wanted to talk to my little… well… _not so little_ daughter. After all, it's been _ages_ since we chatted over a nice drink; so much in fact that the last time we were sharing a cup of _milk_ together."

"Was it really that long ago?" asked Urd with a raised eyebrow, while her mother ordered two martinis for them.

"I think so, although time can a very subjective concept in certain cases. I've been around for much longer than that, and yet the last few centuries felt like an eternity to me." Hild refused to go any further and instead focused on her drink that the waiter promptly served them, leaving Urd stare at her in wonder.

It wasn't pity or sadness in the half goddess' eyes, although she was far from indifferent to her mother's indirect admission of being lonely. It was undoubtedly due to the situation in regards to her ex husband and more importantly with her daughter who chose to become a goddess, so, Urd didn't even need to ask for the root of the problem. Even more, she also knew that offering her pity would only make matters worse for her mother as all demonesses were proud and especially one possessing the highest rank in her whole society. "Can I ask you one thing?"

"Hm? What is it Urd-chan?" Taking a sip from her glass, Hild noticed her daughter's hesitation as she toyed with the idea in her mind for a while before she managed to voice one of the things she had always meant to ask her.

"Why did you allow me to become a goddess?"

"Ah… that. Well… to put it simply, that was your decision little one and I merely respected that. I'm fairly sure that it wasn't exactly a conscious one and it happened without you even noticing, but as some point, your goddess side became dominant and affected you as a whole. It was true that there were possible means to increase the influence of your demonic side, and as the Daimakaicho a lot of immortals had expected me to do that, just to save face and avoid handing my only child to her father," admitted Hild between sips of her martini, using that as an excuse to put her thoughts together. "As a ruler, that could be seen as an act of submission or even as a way of getting rid of the remnants of a past relationship; yet as a mother… what would you have done in my place? Keep your daughter around by _any_ means necessary? Force your only child to become what you wanted, and the process completely disregard her own decisions?"

There was a long pause as Hild's counter argument caught Urd by surprise, as she had never considered what she would've done in her mother's place. Most of her life, Urd had simply assumed that such a thing was impossible as she tried to avoid any relationships with demons for that very reason, practically eliminating any such possibility. Still, a tiny part of her mind knew that in all seriousness, should Urd had to chose between saving face and letting a child of hers to pick a side, she would've probably done the latter. "Was that the only way?"

"Depends… A long time ago, even having a child with a god would've been such an absurd idea, that most immortals would've simply dismissed it as a silly notion. Yet times are changing and things are not the same way as they used to be back then. Perhaps in the far future, couples like me and your father won't have to deal with such prejudice and opposition, allowing both parents to raise their kids together. Still, that won't change the past and as such, I did what had to be done; nothing more, nothing less. And by the looks of it, you too played your own role in that, so I won't blame you for anything, Urd-chan. I'm all too familiar with the problems that you would've faced if you were too happy to socialize with me, although you may have overdone it a bit there," said Hild before she smirked, much to her daughter's surprise who wasn't expecting such an expression following that statement. "You know, in way that kind of pleases me."

"Huh? Why… why would you say that?" asked the baffled Urd, failing to see how such a thing made her mother happy. If nothing else, the half goddess had expected her to admonish her or at the very least find a polite manner to show her displeasure at her daughter's rather obvious attempts to keep a distance between them.

"Because… it means that you're a lot more like me than you may think, Urd-chan. Yes, it's pretty obvious that you physically resemble me, but in reality it's far more important to me that you inherited more than just my looks. As your mother, it's comforting that you're so much like me, even if that proud and stubborn part of yourself is giving me trouble. You may think that it's a paradox, yet that's proof of your demonic side having an influence over your decisions and not being just shoved to the side by your goddess side."

"I… never thought of it like that." Blinking, Urd began to realize that in all irony, her extreme methods of maintaining her pride as a goddess might've been attested to the very thing that she was trying to keep at bay: her demonic side.

"No and neither should you. The more you try to polarize things, the worse it is for you Urd-chan. You're _both_ a goddess and a demoness, so stop making things harder by attempting to decipher which side is responsible for every thought that pops in your mind. Of course, I won't pretend to understand how things must be for you, since I never got to deal with such issues, still, am I close?"

"Perhaps… I honestly haven't thought much about it, but… you may be right." Although there were still parts of her memory that were inaccessible, Urd could already recall more than enough to say that her mother was indeed right. She had spent far too long fighting with herself over all sorts of matters and in the end she either failed to make any decision, or simply picked one of the available options at random; with the predictable results.

"In that case, I believe that this might be a good chance to start over Urd-chan. When you lost your memories, it appears that you've stopped acting like that, and although you regained most of them, your behavior has indeed changed to a degree," said Hild, enjoying the puzzled look on her daughter's face as she certainly tried to recall what was different about the way she acted as of late. "To give you a hint Urd-chan, you're acting in a much more natural and less forced manner than before, and although your memories are slowly returning, you're still more relaxed than you used to."

"Now that you mention it… I _do_ feel a bit more at ease, although… not nearly as much as I'd like," admitted the goddess with a frown, before her mother tutted her.

"Not so fast, Urd chan! You're forgetting that there are still a few things troubling you; like the fact that you're living away from your sisters, or even… your situation with those boys. I know that you're having a tough time deciding what to do, but the more you postpone it, the worse it's going to get."

"As if I don't know that!" said Urd with grunt, holding the now empty glass while her mother ordered another round of cocktails for them. "But, how can you choose when they're so different from each other?"

"So what?" asked Hild, smiling as the waiter brought their mojitos. "Isn't that always the case? Everyone is a bit different and has something to offer that the others don't have, so stop thinking that it's as simple as comparing to see who excels at everything."

"Thank you for stating the obvious, mom. It's not like I was checking who's got the biggest…" Stopping before she said too much and in the process give her mother something to tease her with, Urd turned to her drink, only to notice Hild's cat-like gaze. "What?"

"Stop acting innocent, Urd-chan! I know you checked them back at that onsen, you naughty thing!" laughed Hild, much to her daughter's chagrin. Waiting until she reached her glass for a sip, Hild chose that very moment to continue. "Personally I'm kind of surprised you haven't tried the hands on approach. You know… just try everyone before you pick whose wiener is the winner!"

Spitting her drink in shock and sheer embarrassment, the wide eyed goddess tried to recover and avoid spilling the rest of the cocktail on her dress. " _MOM?! What do you think you're proposing?_ "

Instead of an answer, Hild just started to cackle like a madwoman, holding her sides as tears started to well up, blurring her vision. "Oh, I got you _so_ bad, it's not even funny! Actually… it's _HILARIOUS!_ "

Puffing up her crimson cheeks, the annoyed Urd was just about to cast a lightning bolt at her troublemaker of a mother, before the Daimakaicho's expression softened and there was something in her eyes that made the half goddess stop. "What is it now?"

"You know, as much as you look and act like me, there's still that part you got from him…" It was a much softer tone than what Urd was used to hear from her mother, and that actually helped her relax a bit.

" _That_ part? You mean… falling victim to your crude jokes?"

"Well… that too, but… no. It's that softer side of his that made me fall for him in the first place," said Hild with the closest thing to a dreamy look she could afford making, before she inadvertently convinced her daughter that she was totally wasted; and on her second glass none the less. "You can stop staring at me like that, Urd-chan. We all act a bit differently when that special someone is around and… yes, I'm not the exception when it comes to such a simple truth. While I never acted like a lovestruck teenager, deep down I _knew_ that my relationship with your father wasn't just a mere infatuation, or even a friendship with certain benefits. Which… might also prove to be the answer you're looking for in your situation, too."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" asked the confused goddess, who suddenly realized that he mother had somehow managed to change the subject of their discussion back to her current predicament.

"Think about it for a moment. While it's true that you're getting along with all your housemates and it's safe to assume that all of them can be considered as your _friends_ , there must be someone you feel to be _closer_ to you. It's hard to describe with words, Urd-chan, but if you really want to solve your problem, it's best if you recall how you feel whenever you're interacting with them, but this time try to observe your own reactions. At some point, you'll find out who makes you feel special and wanted, which… is pretty much the answer you're looking for," said Hild, much to her daughter's surprise, as she had never really expected to hear something like that from a demoness, let alone the Daimakaicho herself.

It was certainly something that was more likely for Belldandy to say, and yet it didn't actually shock her. Urd knew that despite her nature and even her personality, Hild was likely to try and help her daughter when she needed it the most, and this was exactly one of those moments. "I see… It does make sense to a degree, although I'll probably have some hard thinking to do."

"I never said it was going to be easy, Urd-chan. That's not a mathematical formula or an algorithm with a somewhat predictable result. Matters of the heart will always be as troublesome as they can get, although there are also some definite upsides too. As the mortals say… no pain, no gain. Don't force yourself too much to come up with an answer either, just try to observe your own thoughts and emotions while you talk with them and soon a pattern will emerge. It's only a matter of connecting the dots from that point on." Content that she got a nod from her daughter, Hild was pleased to have an opportunity to talk to her in such a manner, especially since they haven't seen each other for quite some time. And no matter how insignificant as it may appeared to be, this was a step in the right direction, which certainly made her visit here a complete success in Hild's eyes.

"Alright, I'll give it a try and see what I can come up with," said Urd with a sigh as she sipped from her glass before she realized that there was something else she needed to say. "Also…Thanks, mom."

"Anytime, dear."

XXX

Less than an hour later, the whole group was assembled back at the temple. Keiichi and Dagaz had returned there way earlier of course, only to find the possessed feline tending his apparently trampled tail, but despite their concern, Tyr refused to disclose how that came to happen.

Instead, the celestial leader advised the two concerned men that it was unlikely for Hild to allow herself or even Urd go out of control, and while seemingly dangerous, it was probably for the best to let them have some privacy and talk to each other. It was something they both needed and poking their noses would only ruin such a rare moments, as they'd both act far more reserved if others were around them; especially Hild who had an image to maintain. Even Vali who had opted to stay behind in the temple and avoid getting involved, agreed that it was most likely for the best to let those two to mend up their relationship on their own. The war god cadet reasoned that any effort on their part, regardless of how well intended it was, would be doomed to fail as both of them were stubborn and prideful enough to let others dictate them how to act around each other.

Ever so reluctantly, the two men decided to simply stay put and as predicted by Tyr, Urd and her mother returned a while later without any further incidents. Interestingly, much of the previous strain between them was apparently gone, replaced by what seemed to be mutual respect. Even though they still teased each other, it was nowhere as aggressive as it was back during their lunch at that restaurant, and no matter how unexpected, everyone was pleased that there was some sort of progress between them.

Perhaps more than anyone else, it was Tyr who ended up trying to get that pesky spec of sand out of his eyes, or at least pretend that this was the case to avoid getting teased by his ex for being too sentimental at times. Sure, she may also noticed him tagging along, which was a totally different matter and certainly something that she was definitely going to bring up in the future, but at the very least, Tyr made an effort to avoid getting too involved and ruin their little moment. It was the first time he saw his daughter try to talk to her mother and as such, he thought that it was for the best to avoid doing anything he may have regretted later and by the looks of it, this ended up being the right choice.

"And then he said… _Hey there sweetie, how about you give me your number?_ So, I gave him a paper and while he grinned like an idiot, he took a glance at it and found out that it was the bill for his bike. I swear he was close to crying at that point," said Urd with a giggle as she ascended the temples stairs along with her mother.

"Oh, that seems like _fun!_ I never thought that working at a bike shop was _so_ enjoyable!" laughed Hild as the two of them approached the main residence.

"Well… it gets even funnier when they realize that there's no mistake in the bill and that is indeed how much they need to pay!"

The assorted men, along with the possessed tabby cat could only stare at the mother and daughter duo as they cackled like this was the funniest joke in the world.

'I guess they had too many drinks for their own good,' thought Tyr in disdain, shaking his head at the seemingly inebriated duo. While not being drunk in the same fashion as mortals, both Hild and Urd acted in a lot less restrained manner than normal; which didn't mean all that much.

"Do you really have to go?" asked Urd with a somewhat sad tone, finding herself in the unexpected situation of not wanting to see her mother go; unlike her previous statements a couple of hours ago.

"You know how it is Urd-chan. I've got a realm to run, so, I cannot afford to stick around in one place for too long," said Hild with a softer expression than before, until Tyr finally decided to poke his nose into their conversation.

"Not to sound too insensitive, but… you're still going to leave that one thousandth part of yourself around, so don't act as if you're gone for good."

Staring at the possessed cat for a few seconds, Hild considered the best, or rather the worst way to respond to his otherwise correct, yet unnecessary comment; essentially revealing that she was still going to stick around in some shape or form. Turning to her daughter, the Daimakaicho offered her an evil grin as an idea struck her. "Oh, and don't forget to ask me for help if you need to organize a wedding, Urd-chan. I've got a feeling that this might turn out to be your chance to tie the knot with a lucky boy, so don't be shy to ask for mommy's help, okay?"

While she seemed lost at first, Urd caught on pretty fast after following her mother's gaze who gave Tyr a rather pointed look. "Sure thing, mom! I'm not sure if I can get Peorth down here for the stag night, meaning that I might need a dancer for that occasion! You think you can handle it?"

"Who do you think you're talking to, girl? Of course I can handle it! All I need is to practice the right moves a bit since it's been a while, but other than that… I'm gonna put one Hell of a show!" Making an eight figure with her hips, Hild enjoyed the choking sound coming from the possessed cat and she _knew_ that it wasn't due to a hairball.

" _Since when did you two start to agree at anything? Actually, forget that! Just how much did you drink anyway?_ " shouted Tyr, hitting an octave that caused his voice to crack, resulting in a rather hilarious meowing sound that made the rest of his audience to snigger. Unfortunately for them, since he couldn't do much about Urd, let alone Hild, the Daitenkaicho's wrath was inevitably directed to the three men standing behind him. "And you! What's so funny? Can't wait to have your future mother in law give you a show?"

 _That_ made the trio stop and realize just how annoyed the supreme lord of the celestials sounded. Wasting no time, the two gods and their mortal friend run for it, with Tyr giving chase, resulting into a rather comical scene with all four of them running around the house in circles.

"Men…" muttered Hild, shaking her head, while Urd simply giggled at the sight. "At least it's a good thing that your father hasn't lost his sense of humor."

"I don't think he's joking…" said Urd with a raised eyebrow as the group finished another lap around the house. Then all of a sudden, the sky darkened and the half goddess knew that it was about time to say goodbye to her mother. "So… you're going?"

"Yeah, I think it's time I go back to Niflheim. See you later, Urd-chan." With a smile, the Daimakaicho's form turned into a beam of crimson light that shot upwards to the Gate high above the temple.

"Later, mom." Letting a sigh, Urd couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental for a moment; a very brief on though, as a remnant of her mother's power was still present. But instead of offering comfort to the emotional goddess, it made Urd grumble and turn to her side where the source of this energy signature came from. After all, this wasn't just residual energy left behind by the Daimakaicho's immense power. It was something far more distinct and focused, so much that she even possessed a physical form. "Which part of _later_ , you didn't get?"

"Aw… you're just embarrassed that I caught you getting all weepy!" laughed the childlike avatar of Hild. Despite having only one thousandth of her true self, this version of her mother still had more than enough to stir up a lot of trouble. "Aw!... Mama's _so_ happy!"

"Mama's gonna get a spanking, too! _Come here you little troll!_ " Running after her mother's avatar and joining the others in their… jogging session, albeit with the occasional bolt or two, Urd wasn't entirely sure whether to feel infuriated or perhaps relieved that she still got to have her around. Even if she really felt to give her a nasty zap, and the little scoundrel just wouldn't stay in one position for properly blast her, turning the whole temple grounds into a war zone.

Regardless of who eventually won that battle, one thing was certain: The Tariki Hongan Temple was as lively of a place as ever.

XXX

 _NIT's second all female dorm, Nekomi_

Struggling to find something else to think about and failing miserably, Megumi couldn't forget the moment Hagall simply teleported back to her own realm, leaving behind the stunned mortal who finally had some evidence of the blonde's nature. Up to that moment, her astonishing claims felt like something out of a manga and yet, Megumi had seen that with her own eyes.

'Heck, I spent half an hour looking around that alley for any clues as to how she must've faked it. There's no mistake, that wasn't a show with lights and mirrors, it was the real deal. Immortals, huh… What have you gotten yourself into, Kei-chan?'

That was the actual question here, since Megumi had no idea what exactly to do or even say to her brother now. There were so many questions and a for a moment, the young Morisato really wished she had paid more attention to Hagall's words instead of thinking that she was a nutcase.

'This isn't helping… I need to go and ask them what's going on tomorrow. Dunno, maybe try to come up with an excuse to barge in there and make them spill the beans.'

Even though that wasn't exactly a plan, Megumi decided that one way or the other, it was better to stop worrying about it before she got sick or something. Feeling a little peckish, the young student got up from her bed to reach for her phone and order something when she noticed the CD Hagall had given her, and this time she knew that it wasn't just a promotional material as the blonde had initially claimed.

Still, she had no idea if it was just for show and had no contents or it was an actual one, perhaps even something she brought from Hell. As curiosity got the better of her, Megumi decided to check it out and placing the CD inside her portable player, she hit the play button and then waited patiently.

Weird sounds that resembled static noise mixed with garbled speech came out of the speakers and then all of a sudden the device started to shake, causing Megumi to take a few steps back.

' _Whoa! Is is possessed or something?! What have I gotten myself into?!_ '

With a loud explosion that blasted the device to tiny pieces, a thick cloud of smoke filled the room, followed by a loud and positively malicious cackle.

" _Mwa ha ha! I'm free! I'm finally FREE!_ "

" _Another_ demoness?"

There was an awkward silence as the newcomer came to a stop, and turned to the baffled brunette who stared back at her in wonder. Smirking a bit, exposing her sharp canines that should've normally intimidated most mortals, the demoness' grin became even larger as she found no hint of fear in this woman's expression.

"Greetings mortal! Today's your lucky day, since I'll offer you a sign of my gratitude for setting me free by granting you a…"

That's when the door opened, interrupting the blonde's monologue, as the rest of the dorm's residents decided to check what the commotion was all about.

"Hey, Megumi are you alright? We heard a loud noise and… Oh my goodness! It's a hot guy! And look at those canines and… and the cape! It's a vampire!"

Staring at the dozen or so girls who were squealing in delight, Mara could hardly hide her shock and amazement from that development. As such, it took the demoness a while to register their words and the moment she did, a vein popped at her forehead as she snarled at them. " _HEY! I'M A WOMAN, YOU DUMB KIDS!_ "

"Eh?" Pausing, the students took a better look at the so called demoness who pat her chest, making sure to let them see that there was definitely something under her baggy clothes; a pair of them, as a matter of fact.

"Not _eh…_ I'm a woman and even better, I'm a _DEMONESS!_ And to be more precise, I'm demoness _first class unlimited license, Mara!_ "

"Aw… it's just a cosplayer from an unpopular show… Demons are so old fashioned these days..."

"Wait… what?" Watching them turn around and leave, Mara was dumbstruck, since this was the first time she got this kind of reaction. Granted, she had encountered all sorts of responses from mortals when she appeared before them, but this… this was new. " _What the hell's wrong with kids these days?_ "

"Dunno… And to imagine that they thought I was the weird one for liking bikes so much," muttered Megumi with a shake of her head.

"No kidding! Anyways… I'm all thankful for releasing me and all that jazz, so you I can grant you a wish for free, although… this isn't exactly a formal contract, meaning that… Look, just don't go too crazy okay?" It was a bit humiliating that she had to even say something like that, but Mara had to avoid a possibly catastrophic contract mere moments after her release. Although she didn't wish to own the mortal anything, her superiors wouldn't be terribly happy if she granted a substantial wish without a decent profit and getting their attention so soon was a really bad thing for her.

"Hm… then how about you provide me a bit of a backstory for a certain goddess?" asked Megumi, sensing that this was her opportunity to find more about Urd. "From what I've heard she's the daughter of your leader, so I guess you may have heard about her and…"

"Hold on! You mean… _Urd?_ " asked the astonished Mara, not expecting this mortal to bring up that name. "How do you even know her?"

"Well, she's kind of… living together with my brother…" said Megumi with a sheepish expression, scratching her chin nervously, while Mara simply stood there with her mouth hanging open in shock.

"What? How? When?..." It was really hard for the blonde to imagine that the otherwise proud goddess to even consider staying together with a mortal of all things. In Mara's mind, Urd would've soon lose interest in a partner so beneath her, and as a result the whole situation intrigued her. "Okay, tell you what… I'll answer your questions if you tell me more about them."

"Sounds fair. So… I guess we should start from the beginning…"

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

I would also like to thank ObeliskX for the initial suggestion for a reverse harem setting that led to this story.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

While certain elements of this chapter weren't explained in great detail, I thought that considering Urd and Hild's actions during the party, it would've pushed the story's rating too much, should I go and provide a more detailed description. Besides, the whole point of the chapter was for the scene between Urd and Hild at the bar, where they got the chance to talk about things. Everything else was a nice bonus, but not the main event, so I didn't want to take the focus from that.

Of course Megumi's involvement in the whole situation will be important too, and that's going to play a bigger role later, but for now, she just had to learn about it. On top of that, she unwittingly released Mara who certainly seems intrigued to find out why Urd's interested in a mortal.

Speaking of Mara, her role in this story will be somewhat more similar to that she had in AMG, although with a few notable alterations. However, that's something that will become more clear from the next chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

* * *

'Well, what would you know!... That mortal wasn't lying when she said that Urd's _working_ in a _shop_ of all things!'

It was something Mara had to see with her own eyes to believe it and as such, the blonde demoness sat on top one of the apartment blocks next to Whirlwind, where she could easily spy her old friend. Despite everything she knew about the half goddess' personality, Urd was indeed working as a saleswoman and on top of that, she didn't seem to hate her work either. Setting down her binoculars, Mara wondered just how much things must've changed for Urd to actually enjoy such a mundane and otherwise boring task.

Furthermore, according to Keiichi's sister, both Hagall-sama and Hild-sama had showed up, and if that wasn't enough, Urd even got to meet her mother, despite centuries of doing her best to keep her out of her life. And to further complicate matters, it appears that it was the Daimakaicho's deputy who offered Megumi the CD that contained her sealed form; meaning that she was released on purpose, although what that may had been was beyond Mara.

'If she remembers about being a goddess, then why is she doing this? Urd hates boring, menial tasks and you can't get worse than working in a tiny store that's more or less made out of a container. I get that this is supposed to be a punishment of sorts, but… why does she seems… happy about it? That makes no sense to me!'

Another enigma was the mortal she was living with, as Keiichi Morisato was just your average bike mechanic. At a first glance there wasn't anything special about the dark haired man, as both his scrawny build and apparent lack of money meant that it was unlikely to provide the half goddess with the exciting lifestyle she was interested in.

'How does that guy keep her satisfied, both in the bedroom and even out of it? He looks a bit skinny to me, and with such an underpaying job, they must be living a pretty boring lifestyle. In other words… the exact opposite of what Urd might be interested in!'

Deciding that she needed a break to adjust to this… bizarre and utterly confusing reality, Mara was about to leave, only to remember a rather crucial detail that she had almost forgotten about.

'Hey… where _are_ her sisters? She never strayed too far away from them at any point of time!'

XXX

 _Asgard, Gate room_

"Thanks for waiting, oneesama!"

Rushing towards her sister with a huge smile on her face, the youngest of the Norns could hardly contain her happiness now that she was reunited with her sister. For the last couple of days, Skuld had worked hard together with Peorth to patch the program that ended up blocking Urd's memories, leaving her in an amnesiac state and as important as that task was, it would've been a lie to say that she didn't feel lonely. As a result, the goddess of the future was delighted when Belldandy called her and asked if she wanted to visit their sister, a proposition that Skuld accepted almost immediately.

"It's nice to see you doing well, Skuld. You've grown a bit since I last saw you," said Belldandy with a proud smile as she ruffled her sister's hair affectionately, much to the latter's chagrin.

"Hey, I haven't gotten any taller! So stop making fun of me, oneesama!"

"I wasn't talking about your height, but your ability to handle yourself, even with me an Urd away on the mortal realm," corrected Belldandy in a gentle tone that made her sister relax and allow her to stroke her hair. "It seems that you're getting a lot more mature by the day, Skuld!"

'Hold on! Does that mean… she thought I was immature, before? Nah… she wouldn't now, would she? That's Belldandy we're talking about…' Pushing away such silly thoughts, Skuld retrieved the bag she had been carrying with her and looked towards the Gate with an excited expression her face. "So, can we go now? Please, please… oneesama!"

"Calm down, Skuld! We'll get there in a minute, so don't be this anxious! I know that you want to see Urd again, but first we've got to sign your papers and…"

"Hey, I'm not anxious to meet that big dummy! It's just that… I can't wait to see her doing housework! Oh, that's going to be so awesome! And not to mention hilarious!" said Skuld with a huge grin, while her sister simply shook her head.

'Oh dear… That's how Urd started with her lies when she was little. And now it's Skuld's turn too… I'm going to end up becoming an old lady from all the stress… At least, she's happy to meet Urd and that's what really matters.' As she started to fill in the necessary forms for her little sister to visit Midgard, Belldandy had no idea that at that moment, another entity was also heading there for visit; albeit an unannounced one.

XXX

 _Nekomi, Japan_

Swallowing hard as she debated whether to go on or simply turn back and leave, Megumi spent a couple of minutes wondering what to do as she stood at the bottom of the stairway leading up to the Tariki Hongan temple. Although she had visited this place a couple of times in the past, she had never done that for such a serious reason and her discussion with Mara didn't quite help her to feel more confident.

Apparently, Urd was a bit of a tease and very reluctant to pick someone as a boyfriend these days, especially after a couple of failed relationships. Although she did get that from Hagall, Mara's words made her worry that perhaps the goddess in question just wasn't serious about dating Keiichi after all. Despite being younger than him, Megumi had already a fair share of failed relationships of her own, and while that made her feel more sympathetic towards Urd, the young student knew that Keiichi's already lacking confidence could take a huge blow if the goddess turned him down.

"Hey, what's up Megumi?"

Nearly jumping as the voice came from behind her, the brunette turned around to see a curious Urd standing there with a puzzled expression as it wasn't common for the otherwise energetic girl to look this worried.

"Uh… I just came to see what you guys are up to. I mean, with _four_ people living here, things must be really lively."

It was a subtle way to tell the other woman that she knew about their other two house mates and judge her reaction, but much to her surprise, Urd barely blinked.

"You have no idea… It's a bit _too_ lively at times if you ask me." Crossing her arms, the half goddess eyed at Megumi's shocked expression with mild amusement. "What? You thought I was going to deny it and come up with excuses?"

"Um… yes?"

"Look Megumi, if you know about all that, then I think that there are far more serious matters to discuss than how many people are living here." Looking around, Urd made sure that it was the two of them and Keiichi was nowhere in sight, she used her powers to summon her goddess attire. "Perhaps, it's more about this... Right?"

Megumi could only gawk and nod, as her eyes remained glued at the purple robes Urd was wearing, especially as they literally appeared out of nowhere. If there was any doubt that she's been a victim of an elaborate prank, this was the last bit of proof she needed to finally accept that Urd was indeed not a human at all. Sure, she had already witnessed Hagall and even Mara use some of their powers, but with this… there was no more doubt at all; Urd was indeed a goddess. "Yeah… But… a _goddess?_ "

"I'm still myself, regardless of what you may wish to call me. Sure, I'm not exactly like you, but don't think that I'll suddenly start to act all important and stuff, just because of a fancy title," said Urd with a casual shrug, changing her clothes back to her earthly attire. "And Keiichi knows all about me, so it's not like I'm trying to fool him either, although I don't blame you for finding this hard to swallow, nor I'll start asking questions as to where you've heard that. Even I had some trouble to accept what was going on at first, until I started to slowly remember random bits from my past."

Hesitating a bit, Megumi decided to push her luck and ask one of the things she wondered after hearing Urd's story from the others. "So… you _did_ lose your memories for real?"

"That goes without saying. I really hate the damsel in distress gag and I'd never scam anyone into a relationship out of pity; I've got some standards you know."

"Sorry, sorry, I just had to ask! I didn't… mean it like that!" said Megumi, before she stopped and let out a sigh, visibly deflating as she realized how she must've sounded. "Boy, I'm really acting like a jealous sister who's taking her frustrations on her brother's girlfriend…"

"To a certain degree, I'll have to agree with you, although, I'm not one to speak either. You see… It's not like I don't find you trustworthy, but… in the end, I didn't trust you, so there!"

Eying at each other like hungry predators who fought over the same carcass, the two women grinned as this banter kept on.

"Really? I'm the one who should be worried about your housekeeping skills," said Megumi, only to have Urd laugh at the accusations.

"Pff! That's what electrical appliances are for anyway! It's my _other_ skills that really matter, but I don't want to bring those up to such an _innocent_ girl like you," said Urd, tossing her hair over her shoulder while arching her back slightly to make her chest stick out more than it normally does.

"If that's true, pray tell me why Kei-chan's still a virgin?" countered Megumi with a smirk, but failed to phase her opponent.

"Hey, I had to introduce him to my mom first, and… make sure that she wasn't the one who'd deflower him before I had the chance to do so! It's not that simple you know!" said Urd with an over dramatic pout.

"Well, can't blame you for that. I've kind of seen her and boy, she's hot!"

"Easy there, girl! I'd rather have you as my sister in law, instead of my mother's new squeeze!" laughed Urd, totally unaware of the temple's tabby cat walking up to them.

"Dunno, I'd definitely consider becoming a lesbian for such a looker!" said Megumi with a wink, while the possessed feline stopped next to her and groomed himself with a nonchalant expression on his face.

"Be mindful of your wishes or misfortune will befall upon you."

Turning towards the unexpected source of the interruption, the duo's reactions couldn't be more different with one of them freaking out while the other simply glared at the newcomer.

" _The cat talked!_ "

Ignoring the hyperventilating mortal, Urd kept staring at her father instead. "Very funny… Is that a celestial proverb of something?"

"No, I just read it one of those fortune cookies you've brought back with you from that Chinese restaurant," said Tyr in an almost nonchalant tone.

" _You ate my cookies?_ " shouted the indignant half goddess, grinding her teeth.

"In my defense, I only got _one_ , the _rest_ of them met a cruel fate at your mother's jaws," said Tyr, nodding towards the direction of the house.

"Don't think this is over! I just need to save what I can!" said Urd as she rushed back inside, leaving Tyr with the shell shocked Megumi who still muttered about cats not being able to talk. "Now, how about you come inside and have cup of tea with us? Sorry for this, but I had to stop your little game before you actually managed to insult my daughter and end up getting a lightning bolt for your trouble. And stop this stuff about me being a cat, I'm only possessing this body; it's not my real one."

"Ah, sorry…" Shaking her head, Megumi tried to ignore the awkward feeling of having a conversation with a cat and put on the best smile she could muster. "I… I'd love that!"

"Well, this way, then."

XXX

Megumi was already on her second cup of tea when her brother finally arrived at the house. Today was Keiichi's turn to go shopping, and the moment he stepped inside, the young mechanic felt that something was off. Next to Urd's shoes was a pair of sneakers that looked suspiciously familiar, yet… judging by the voices coming from the living room, his other housemates were also present.

'What's going on? If Megumi's here, then…'

Poking his head through the living room's door, Keiichi was horrified when he found not only Vali and Dagaz chatting with his sister, but Hild's avatar was there too; hovering in mid air, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

" _Hey! What's going on here?_ "

"Oh, hi there Kei-chan!" said Megumi with a big grin, enjoying her brother's panicked look as he realized that this could lead into a lot of questions. "I was having a nice cup of tea with everyone here, so… Want to join us?"

"B-But… she's _hovering!_ " said Keiichi, pointing at Hild's avatar, who giggled and flipped herself upside down.

"Yes… and the cat talks too, but… I've already found out about it," said Megumi, before she narrowed her eyes at her panicking brother who knew what was to follow. " _Thanks for telling me, by the way._ "

Wincing at his sister's sarcastic and rather caustic tone, Keiichi scanned around the room for anyone willing to help him and much to his surprise it was Hild who rushed to his rescue. Floating towards Megumi, she sat on her lap and offered the mortal woman some rice crackers.

"Here, Megumi-chan! They're really good!"

"Hey, thanks Hild! Don't mind if I do!"

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Keiichi turned to his right to find Urd smiling at him. "It's alright, Keiichi. We… talked already, and…"

"It was quite a spectacle," said Tyr, interrupting his daughter as he took his eyes from the TV and glanced towards the dark haired mechanic. "I've never heard such cheerful… insults. Which probably explains why Hild's so giddy."

Nodding slowly, Keiichi tried not to think too much about what may had taken place, given that everyone was cheerful, or at the very least content with staying in the same room. As such, it was unlikely that the situation had truly gotten out of hand and resulted into a catfight. "Well, it's a relief that nothing bad happened and…"

Before Keiichi could even finish his sentence, the doorbell rang, making everyone look towards the front door.

'Now what?' wondered Keiichi, as Dagaz went to answer the door.

"I've got it!" said the cheerful god, only to let out a startled yelp mere moments later. " _Boss?_ "

Intrigued, the rest of his housemates along with Megumi and Hild peeked around the doorframe and that's when Urd nearly launched towards the two goddesses standing before the stunned Dagaz.

" _Belldandy! Skuld!_ "

Knowing what was about to happen, both the goddess of the present and the blonde god stepped aside, leaving the confused Skuld to come face to face with her nemesis: her eldest sister's bosom.

" _Mmph!_ "

Twirling her around like a rag doll, the overjoyed half goddess ignored the little Norn's angry protests and just kept hugging her tighter. "I've missed you!"

" _Just… let go! And stop doing this! I've told you countless times that I hate it!_ " said Skuld with a gasp, managing to pull her face free from her sister's cleavage. "Find someone else to rub your boobies against their face!"

"Ha! That's the spirit kiddo! Looks like you've grown up a bit while I wasn't looking?" Laughing hard Urd pat Skuld's shoulders, while Belldandy simply stared at her younger sister in utter shock.

" _Skuld? There did you pick such language?_ " asked the horrified Norn of the present, making her sibling realize her blunder; although it was too long to fix it now.

"Uh… a book?" suggested the young goddess, hiding behind the amused Urd.

"Just _what kind_ of books are you reading?" asked the scandalized Belldandy, trying to get to her unruly sibling who was probably entering the dreaded first stages of adolescence.

"Normal ones?" said Skuld from her hiding place, her voice full of uncertainty and even concern as her big sister tried to peek around their eldest sibling who stood between them.

"Calm down Bell… It's not that much of a big deal," said Urd, placing her hands on her sister's shoulders, causing her to visibly relax. "We all know that Skuld's more like your mother, so it's a bit… of a family thing."

"Huh? What do you mean, neesan?" asked Belldandy, tilting her head in confusion, all while Hild tried to keep herself from laughing out.

"Well… she's kind… From what I've heard, Ansuz can swear like a sailor if someone _really_ manages to piss her off," said Urd, eying at her mother, who simply stuck her tongue out in response. "Especially when that _someone_ casually floats behind her and plops her overgrown boobs on top of her head…"

"Oh… did you hear that, Bell-chan?" asked Hild in a singsong tone, giving the middle Norn a playful wink. "I think you found out where our little Skuld learned that word from. Although I'll give her credit for coming up with a lie to cover up for my Urd-chan! _Aww... how cute!_ "

Letting out a sigh, Belldandy simply sidestepped her sisters, much to their surprise and headed towards their father. Looking down at the possessed cat whose ears perked up as Belldandy stopped before him, the brunette goddess cleared her throat to regain her composure, doing her best to ignore Hild's amused expression. "Father, is it true that mother is… foul mouthed?"

"Daughter of mine, if I were to give you a sincere answer to that question, then I'd end up sleeping on the couch," said Tyr in a low and level tone, doing his best to ignore Hild's sniggering. "And in all honestly, I _really_ don't like our couch."

"Ha! You never complained about _my_ couch!" laughed Hild, not been able to restrain herself anymore. "Then again, we normally used that for…"

" _Don't you dare finish that sentence!_ " shouted the possessed feline, his fur standing up in shock.

And while the two former lovers bickered about what they were supposed to say in front of the kids or not, Megumi gave her brother a long look. "And here I thought that Keima and Takano were weird…."

"That's so true… Especially since our parents cannot blow up planets and who knows what else these two can do," muttered Keiichi, keeping his voice as low as possible; just enough for his sister to hear him. "So, keep that in mind before you put your foot on your mouth and end up pissing off either of them. For all I know, they can turn you into a hamster, or even a car..."

"Gotcha!"

XXX

Roughly half an hour later things had calmed down considerably as everyone decided to enjoy a rather peaceful moment together; especially given the rather unusual situation of having all three Norns in the same room with Hild. Given that she was Urd's mother, one would've expected her to show some level of animosity to her ex's two other daughters; the result of his union with another goddess and living proof that their relationship was over.

Yet despite that, the Daimakaicho's avatar chose to sit between Belldandy and Skuld, especially as this was the first time she really got to meet them in person and even made an effort to get to know them. It almost seemed uncharacteristic for a demoness to do such a thing, although in reality it was within demonic nature to repay a debt, and given that Urd was welcomed by Ansuz as a member of her family, Hild would settle for nothing less than return the favor. Doing anything other than that would've made her appear as a petty demoness and for someone of her status, that was absolutely unacceptable. Then again, the mere fact that she and their mother were friends was a colossal bonus as well.

Still knowing how much Hild loved to tease others, most of the bystanders decided to keep a safe distance between themselves and what appeared to a recipe for a disaster. Keiichi suddenly remembered to take a look at Megumi's KSR despite his sister's complaints that she was taking good care of her bike, while Vali volunteered to go to the city and grab some additional supplies, now that they had guests. With nothing else to do in the kitchen until Vali returned back with the supplies, Dagaz thought that sweeping the temple grounds was a great idea; and so he left the Norns along with Tyr and Hild to have their family reunion of sorts.

'Well, I guess that's the last of them!'

Smiling as he proudly inspected the stack of leaves in front of him, Dagaz was happy to see that thanks to his hard the temple grounds were as clean as never before. Not a single twig could be found lying on the ground, and hopefully that would make everyone realize how hard he must've worked to accomplish that without using any magic. Although he could've gone for that, given that the whole point was to buy himself some time and keep out of Urd's hair during her sisters' visit, he avoided the much faster method, using the good old straw broom to sweep the yard.

'Oh… I bet Urd might even offer me a compliment and… huh? _What the?_ '

A sudden gust of wind picked up and ruined everything as it sent the leaves flying all over the place, making the blonde god growl in frustration and Mara to cling onto the tree she was sitting on while spying them from a safe distance with her binoculars. And if that wasn't enough, the leaves were pulled into a small cyclone as a figure formed in the middle of it; a very familiar form.

" _Oh, Urd!_ "

"YOU?! What the Hell are _you_ doing here?" shouted the blonde god, interrupting the newcomer as he started to strum his harp and forcing him to look in Dagaz's direction with a startled expression on his face. "And what about this mess too, pal? Don't care about the whole _oh look how sexy I am with my cape picking up the wind_ nonsense, I just finished sweeping the place you know!"

"That should be my line! Why are _you_ living here? I thought that this was my Urd's home!" shouted the Earth Spirit back at the god, pointing him with a shaking finger.

"It is, and before you even bother to ask, no… I'm not the _only_ guy living under the same roof. There are _two_ others and we're kind of out of rooms to spare, so… beat it!" Smiling from ear to ear as the astonished musician stared him with his mouth hanging open in shock.

"THREE?!"

"Well… as they say, sharing is caring. Plus, someone needs to keep her busy during the night, and it's so much easier if we take shifts." As much of a lie as that claim was, Dagaz was more than happy to turn this guy's jealousy against him. Last time this bully got away with trying to curse him just because he _dared_ to try and _talk_ to Urd, acting like the perfect control freak of a boyfriend; only to dump her when it was convenient.

"I… I must put an end at this! Your vice deeds will come to an end right now!" Resisting the urge to just curse him on the spot, the Earth Spirit ran past him, towards the first source of noise he could hear, hoping that it was Urd. "My love! Come back to me!"

'What a nutcase…' Shaking his head, Dagaz was about to head back into the house and warn the others of this uninvited _guest_ , but stopped when he spot Vali by the temple's stairs. He had just arrived back from his shopping trip and immediately an idea formed in the god's mind.

"Vali! We've got an intruder!"

XXX

"Urd? Are you in there my beautiful flower?" said the plum tree spirit as he approached the shed where Keiichi kept his Beemer.

Failing to notice the Morisato sibling who sat next to Megumi's KSR and peered over the green bike to see who this weirdo was and what made him think that Urd was here.

"You do not have to hide from me, Urd. I shall make you remember our love with a song!" Taking his ever present harp in hand he began to strum.

"Oh! Urdy!" he warbled. Strumming another chord, he continued.

"You are as beautiful as a birdy!" closing his eyes and tilting his head back the amorous immortal poured his heart into his ballad.

"I need to be..." Troubadour was abruptly cut short by an icicle that smashed against the back of his head, before shattering into tiny bits of ice. "OW!"

"State your name and purpose, or face the consequences!" Standing next to a grinning Dagaz who thoroughly enjoyed this, Vali had already changed into his combat uniform, before summoning the standard issue battleaxe of the Fighting Wings.

xxx

" _That's my boy!_ "

Heads turned around Valhalla's Combat Information Center, as the astonished Valkyries could hardly believe that the enthusiastic and rather loud exclamation originated from the most stoic among them.

Daring to voice hers concerns from her station next to Lind's, Chrono did what few war goddesses had the guts to do. "Uh… captain? I thought that it was generally frowned upon to shoot first and then ask questions?"

"True." Wiping her tears of motherly pride off, Lind tried to remind herself that encouraging her young protegee to follow protocol was really important. Even… if she didn't restrain herself from doing the very same thing her son just did. "I'll have to reprimand him when he comes back. Oh, and keep that in mind too, Chrono!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Offering her a content nod, Lind returned back at her task at hand: take a few more photos for the family album.

xxx

"EEK!"

The shrill shriek made everyone, Vali included to stare at the Earth Spirit in wonder, as the musician jumped to the roof of the shed, getting as far as possible from the terrible object the blue haired god was holding.

"What's up with that guy? Who _is_ he anyways?" asked Megumi, while her brother stepped out of the shed and looked up to the trembling spirit who shook in terror.

"He's called Troubadour and happens to be Urd's _ex_ boyfriend," spat Dagaz, giving the aforementioned Earth Spirit a glare. "Although don't underestimate him due to how stupid he looks... This bloke _loves_ to curse anyone who dares to talk to Urd, so keep your guard up."

"Hold on! Curse?" asked Keiichi, who started to feel that this didn't involve mere curse words, but something a bit more substantial. "What kind of curse are we talking about?"

"The kind that makes your body to fill up with crawly bugs until it bursts…" muttered the blonde god, making both mortals present turn green, although Vali couldn't care less, his training providing him with the means to counter all but the worst kinds of curses.

'Besides he's an Earth Spirit, so I doubt that he can overpower me. And even if worse comes to worst, I can always do what mother instructed me for situations like these: beat the daylights out of him.

However, the aforementioned Spirit managed to muster all his courage and get off the roof, determined to face his adversaries. Ignoring Megumi, he was certain that the blue haired god and the other mortal were Dagaz's accomplices in this filthy scheme to corrupt poor Urd and use her to their heart's content. "That's right! I'll never allow you… you fiends to keep exploiting my Urd's kind heart! I'll make you all disappear!"

Strumming his harp, Troubadour's eyes turned red as his ominous tune caused dark tendrils of energy to gather around him like some kind of unholy miasma. "Bugs… bugs… bugs on the march… bugs… on… _OW!_ "

With a flick of his wrist, Vali launched a fist sized hail ball that smacked Troubadour right between his eyes, causing the Earth Spirit to stumble back and land hard on the ground. "Nice try… but no cigar."

"That was _so_ cheap!" protested Troubadour, pointing at the war god cadet with an accusatory finger.

"So says the guy who thinks that including a mortal as a target is a sign of bravery. And let's not mention that you're assaulting us without any provocation while you're technically an intruder. Because I highly doubt that you were invited here," said Vali, narrowing his eyes at the musician.

"I'm here to rid my Urd of you three perverts who are taking advantage of her!" cried Troubadour, strumming his harp. "Oh, Urd! How could you let these brutes touch you, my innocent flower!"

"Innocent?" asked Dagaz, as images of Urd's most daring outfits popped in his mind. "Are we even talking about the same goddess?"

"I may have hit him a harder than intended," said Vali, scratching his head while Keiichi noticed a scroll lying on the ground, but before he could pick it up, the rest of the immortals joined them to see what the commotion was all about.

"Hey, what's up with all that noise all of a sudden?"

Staring at them with a raised eyebrow, it took Urd a moment to notice that there was a newcomer among them, but a very… familiar looking one. 'Oh no… not this again! Why is Troubadour back? I thought he had departed on a journey to find the Golden Nightingale. So, what is he doing here?'

"Oh, Urd!" getting up in a hurry, Troubadour ignored the looks we was getting from her sisters and continued with his song. "Your hair, while like the purest snowflakes in the winter. Your eyes reflect the sun like the most beautiful amethyst gems! Your cherry lips so enticing like…"

"Hey, if we keep going _south_ , I'm out of here. I want no songs about my hooters, especially not while a _certain_ someone's around," said Urd, interrupting the amorous Earth Spirit and doing her best to avoid looking towards Skuld who was giving her a dirty look, realizing who she was most likely talking about. "Besides… why are you here to begin with?"

"I'm here to rekindle the flames of our passion!"

"Can we _not_ have any flames? She already burnt the house down yesterday." said Tyr, surprising the musician when he decided to voice his thoughts.

"I was trying to light up the gas stove!" objected Urd, but to no avail as her father was relentless.

"The oven, my fluffy tail! You light up the whole temple along with your mother's britches and nearly got the rest of us in stitches!" shot Tyr back at his daughter, while Hild couldn't help but snigger in the distance. "And if you think that it's funny that I rhyme, then tell that to someone who gives a dime."

That childish giggle caused Troubadour to look up from the wise cat, and towards a sight that made his face lose all color. Standing next to Keiichi who had just picked up the scroll he previously found, was a little girl that greatly resembled Urd. " _No! How could fate be so cruel?!_ They had already sown the seeds of their foul desires into…"

A lightning bolt ended his sentence, as a growling Urd narrowed her eyes at the soot covered Troubadour. "Which part of _we've got minors here_ can't you get, you nitwit?"

" _I'm not a kid!_ " barked Skuld, sticking her tongue at her eldest sister, who simply returned the favor.

And while the two quarreling siblings went on with the middle sister trying to defuse the situation, Troubadour jogged towards the unfortunate mortal and the Daimakaicho's avatar with a sense of purpose written on his face. "You, mortal! Who's this one's father?"

"How am I supposed to know?" asked Keiichi, as he honestly knew nothing about Hild's background, other that she was Urd's mother.

"Oh my poor Urd!" cried the musician, strumming his harp almost out of habit. "Having a child born out of wedlock, without even knowing who sired your offspring!"

While the rest simply gawked at the almost delirious Earth Spirit, Hild couldn't help but find it utterly amusing that not only did he fail to recognize her, but also ignored the simple fact that she was a pure blooded demoness. None of Urd's housemates had any traces of demonic blood ancestry and as such, having a child with her was highly unlikely to result in a demoness like Hild. At best it would have some of her demonic ancestry, but not to such a degree.

"Huh? Wait, you think that she's…" started the confused Keiichi only to be rudely interrupted by the jealous musician whose intense gaze was downright murderous.

"Mortal! Tell me which one of you filthy lot fathered her, now! If you're honest with me, I might decide to spare you," said Troubadour, leaning closer to Keiichi while that dark aura manifested around him once again.

However, before the mechanic had the chance to offer a reply, Hild decided to do that for him, but not in the way most would've expected from her. Attaching herself to Keiichi's torso, the little version of the Daimakaicho simply uttered one, yet utterly shocking word. " _Daddy!_ "

" _What the?!... Hey, let go of me, Hild! That's... that's not funny!_ "

" _I knew it!_ " Despite Keiichi's rather obvious shock, Troubadour was already convinced that this was perpetrator of sullying his Urd. And that heinous crime had to be punished before he even got to deal with those other two gods that were also guilty but to a somewhat lesser degree. "I hope you enjoyed your short life, you vile vermin! Because I'll now make you disappear!"

" _Oh, for goodness sake!_ " Urd had had enough. Considering that this guy refused to take the hint and his actions were starting to genuinely disturb her, she fired a lightning bolt, but this time it was more than a warning; it was meant to _hurt_. As distasteful as it was to actually harm someone, even without getting to the point of injuring them, Urd came to realize that Troubadour's jealousy has gotten out of hand. Perhaps it had always been that way and she simply wanted to think that her boyfriend was a nicer person than he actually was. Or maybe she ignored those faults by subconsciously considering those overreactions as a sign of undying love and affection. Either way, Troubadour had gone from being an overzealous boyfriend to someone who could be very well described as a stalker and she needed to put an end to this before somebody got hurt. " _That's my mother, you dumbass!_ "

" _EH?_ " Picking himself up from the ground with some effort on his part, as he was still recovering from getting electrocuted, Troubadour gave Hild a much better look and soon enough he bowed his head down to the ground. "Honorable mother! I'm really pleased to meet you in person!"

"Uh… that's something you're supposed to say after you've married my daughter, you know." Scratching her head, Hild ignored Urd's glare, knowing the goddess was far from pleased by her actions but then again, someone had to prod her in order to react. It was disturbing to see Urd simply sit idly while this Earth Spirit got away with bullying Keiichi, let alone threaten to effectively kill him. A mortal certainly couldn't survive having their body filled with insects and that should've been obvious to Urd, yet she hesitated to act which only encouraged Troubadour to go on with his act.

"Enough! I'm done with this!" Glaring at her ex, Urd wanted to make it clear that this time there would be no further misunderstandings. So far she had opted to avoid a particularly nasty breakup for the sake of what happy moments they had in the past, but this was clearly too much. "I don't have a child, and neither I'm sleeping with anyone, but!... Even if that was the case, that's none of your damn business! And let's not even talk about leaving a child of mine orphaned because you cannot accept reality!"

"But, I…"

" _You_ , departed on a journey to find some bird and while I let you pursue your dreams. That was _your_ decision, and if you're a real man, then stick to it! And since we're no longer a couple, my personal life is none of your business!" She finally said it and for a moment it felt really good, even though part of her worried that it may had sounded a bit cruel. Then again, subtlety wasn't going to work with Troubadour, as he clearly failed to get a hint and it was better to scare him than have to rely on more extreme measures, like sealing him. "Now, tell me why you're here and no more nonsense!"

"I.. I found it! I finally found it!" said Troubadour, his face slowly regaining his color after Urd snapped at him.

"The Golden Nightingale? Then where is it?" Looking around in wonder, the half goddess along with most of the bystanders made an effort to detect the aforementioned bird, but to no avail. "I can't see anything!"

"Oh, that's the… problem, actually. I've only found the scroll to summon it, but…" Reaching for his robes, Troubadour paused when the scroll was nowhere to be found. Panicking he tried every one of his pockets, until he reached a dreadful conclusion. " _I've lost it!_ "

"Seriously…" Letting out a sigh, Urd shook her head in disdain reminding herself that this was Troubadour they were talking about, and despite his way of intimidating others, he was even more prone to accidents than Mara. 'Hold on… I… forgot about her. What did I do with her again? Did I seal her? Or was it me and Bell? Ugh… I can't recall that.'

"Excuse me, but are you looking for this?" asked Keiichi, getting both Troubadour and Urd's attention, as he held up the scroll he found previously. "I found it lying on the ground and…"

"YES! That's it!" grabbing it as if it was the most valuable thing in the world, the Earth Spirit cuddled the scroll, much to his audience's amusement. " _My precious!_ "

"It's not a ring, so give me a break! Now, why don't you summon that bird and get this over with," said Urd, only to blink when Troubadour got the scroll right in front of her face and pointed at the ring around it. "Huh? There _is_ a ring?"

"That's right… It's the seal that keeps me from opening the scroll and according to legend, only the tears of a goddess can remove it," said Troubadour with a hopeful, almost pleading expression on his face.

"To begin with I'm only half a goddess, and even then I'm not in the mood for crying," said Urd before immediately turning to her smiling middle sister, who was already holding a feather in her hands. "Even from tickling, thank you very much, Bell! Now… where was I? Oh, right! If it's a ring, just toss it in a volcano!"

"No way! I _need_ the scroll!" said Troubadour, taking a few steps away from the grinning half goddess. She had _that_ look on her face, and whenever that happened… bad things were likely to follow.

"Come on, don't be a wuss! _Gimme!_ "

" _No!_ "

" _Chicken!_ "

" _Meanie!_ "

'And they call _me_ a kid' thought Skuld with a groan, watching the otherwise ridiculous exchange between those two that even managed to have Hild stumped as to how to respond. 'Just you wait, Urd… Once I get a bit bigger _there_ , I'll show everyone who's the most immature in the family.'

Looking directly down, Skuld paused for a moment when an idea struck her. Reaching into her blouse where she stored all her contraptions, the little goddess knew what she had to do. "Hey! I've got something for a situation like this!"

"Huh?"

Giving her a puzzled look as Skuld brought her compact chainsaw out of her secret stash, the assorted crowd took a few steps back, as the tiny device looked like it was capable to cause some real damage. And the red letters on its side, identifying it as 'Texas Murder Mk. III' didn't make anyone feel much better, eithe. Especially the Earth Spirit whose teeth were rattling louder than hungry piranhas in the middle of a barbeque contest.

" _C-C-C-CHAINSAW?!_ "

"Oh, I get it now!" said Dagaz with a big grin, as he finally figured out what was going on. "He's a tree spirit, so he's scared of all sorts of axes! And the more efficient they are, the worse it is!"

"Hm… so that's why he was afraid of my battleaxe," mused Vali, scratching his chin while in the distance Skuld started to chase the terrified Troubadour around the temple grounds.

" _Hey, come back here, you wuss! I Can cut that dumb ring!_ "

" _Somebody help me! They'll turn me into wood pellets!_ "

'Skuld's getting more and more like her mother. Then again… I kind of like her spunky attitude of hers, though. She really doesn't take no for an answer.' Nobody actually noticed Tyr's smile, considering that mischievous grin cats had on their faces at times, but it was rather clear by his tail that swung from side to side that he was indeed happy. He had always worried that his youngest daughter was too dependent of her sisters, both of them, and that things would've hard for her as she grew older. However, with Skuld getting more confident, it was possible that her future seemed promising. A rather fitting prospect for the goddess who governed that particular domain of time.

XXX

Fifteen minutes later, things finally calmed down a bit, allowing Urd and the rest to sit in the front patio for a steaming cup of tea and crackers. Despite Troubadour's earlier attempts to run away from a chainsaw wielding Skuld, the little goddess managed to catch up and slice the offending seal of his scroll. Of course, the aforementioned Earth Spirit did have a few issues with her methods, but then again, arguing with someone who still carried a chainsaw was… far from a smart idea even for him.

Even Mara who had been spying them all this time decided to take a break and eat some of the stir fried noodles and chicken she had bought on the way here. Besides, it gave her a perfect opportunity to reassess the situation after seeing what was going on here and in all honesty, she was even more confused than before.

'Okay… so she seems to remember a lot more than I had initially thought. That rules out the possibility that she's like a lost puppy looking for a home. Heh… as if that would've worked with her.'

Trying to keep herself from chuckling and in the process blow her cover, Mara's turned her attention to the most peculiar of Urd's housemates. While it was fairly obvious why the half goddess might've wished to attract the attention of the other two gods, a mortal was… a totally different matter altogether. He had a limited lifespan, no magic powers whatsoever and even his looks were more or less average; not to mention his financial status. And yet, she knew that _this_ one had caught Urd's eye more than anyone else, much to Mara's disbelief.

'Seriously… what are you thinking Urd? A mortal is hardly your equal, although… that talentless hack of a musician sure looks way more dumb. Maybe, she likes hanging around idiots or something?'

Mara's amused grin slowly turned into a frown when the demoness realized that _she_ was the one who spend most time than any of those men.

'S-She doesn't think that I'm an idiot, right? I mean… sure, I've done some silly things and my plans have a tendency to backfire, and my luck just sucks and…'

Her lower lip was trembling at this point as the list kept growing by the second. Taking a rather angry yet utterly satisfying bite of her chicken teriyaki, Mara dismissed such negative thoughts and tried to focus on the current problem. This whole situation gave all those celestials the perfect opportunity to stick around the… partially amnesiac goddess and at this rate, it wouldn't take long for their influence to spread across the city.

Yet more than anything else, Mara's biggest fear was that this incident could trigger some long lasting changes in the half goddess' personality. At a first glance it was really hard to notice, as Urd's current behavior wasn't all too different from what she could recall, but… there were all sorts of tiny details that told a different story. Sure, people changed over time and it's been indeed a while since she last saw her, but if said changes were solely attributed to her memory loss and subsequent exile to the mortal realm, then Mara had no desire for this to go on. Despite of messing around with each other, Urd was one of the few real friends she had and the prospect of letting her become a boring and utterly generic goddess was too much for Mara to bear.

'We already have Belldandy as the _perfect little goddess_ , so there's no need for another one. Hm… maybe she won't become _exactly_ like that, but… I don't want an Urd that I can't have a couple of drinks with. Or… that she won't try to use one of her bizarre pills on me. Okay, maybe it won't be too bad if she stops doing that, at least on _me_ , but, I want the good old Urd back, dammit!'

Contemplating her options, the blonde demoness knew that the root of the problem was Urd's amnesia. Even with most of memories within reach, Mara doubted that the half goddess would go back to normal until she finally regained _all_ of them, and that in her opinion was the biggest priority here. None of those men did anything to help, perhaps as an excuse to stick around her, and the worst part was that her sisters went along with it too.

'Well, just because nobody wants to do anything doesn't mean that I have to follow their example. I bet that I can find something to help her recover her memory in no time and that should make everyone happy too. Oh!... Especially Hild-sama! I'm going to become the demoness of the decade for sure!'

With newfound confidence, the overjoyed Mara began to plan all the intricate details of her most ambitious scheme so far. This was her ticket to success, and even more, Urd was going to owe _her_ a favor.

'This is the best comeback in history! Now, I'll better buy the latest catalogue and see what kind of stuff I can order!'

XXX

"Ahem! Mi mi mi miiii!... Hm… not, that's not right… It kind of lacks depth, so need to go lower..."

"Hey, are you gonna start now, or what?" Eying Troubadour with annoyance evident in her voice, Urd tapped at her wristwatch. "My soap opera is starting in fifteen minutes, so let's get it over with!"

"Urd! You shouldn't rush a creative artist!" objected the musician but to no avail.

"What's so darn creative about singing something written on a scroll?" countered the half goddess, as she bit another cracker. "Now do it, or I'm gonna sing it!"

"Okay, okay! No need to get so upset about an opera of soaps! I swear… _real_ artists get no respect these days…" grumbled Troubadour, clearing his throat one last time before he actually started his song.

It was actually a rather pleasant tune, although for the assorted celestials there was something… awfully familiar in those verses. Especially to the Norns and their father who exchanged a look of utter confusion and disbelief.

"Father… isn't that?..." trailed Belldandy, only for Tyr to offer a nod.

"I think so, although… why did he got _that_ song?" wondered the celestial leader, looking skywards where a portal formed as a result to the Earth Spirit's aria.

And as the rest of the unsuspecting gods along with the awestruck Morisato siblings gazed at the portal, a form emerged from it. A very different form than one would've expected, as this was no bird, even if she had four little winglets attached to her head; two on either side.

"My, my… I'm rather shocked anyone even remembers my summoning song," said Ansuz with a giggle as she reached her robes and retrieved her communicator, turning to Troubadour. "We use phones these days, young man, so there's no need to resort to such ancient methods. Still, I'm kind of curious to hear what this is all about and so, here I am. Well? What did you call me for?"

To say that at this point Troubadour was utterly confused would've been an understatement. He had done everything according to the scroll's instructions, yet… this Nightingale was really… _really_ different than what he had in mind. But, then again, maybe he was different compared to the other plum tree spirits and his companion reflected that uniqueness as well. With a wide, confident smile on his face and tears of happiness running freely down his cheeks, the musician launched himself at the baffled goddess, and pulled her in a bear hug. " _My golden Nightingale! I've finally met you!_ "

A collective gasp of shock and surprise could be heard across the audience, as everyone save the two mortals knew who this goddess really was, and even more… what was going to follow.

" _Brace for impact!_ " shouted the possessed feline as the rest of the celestials hit the deck, with Vali moving to shield Keiichi and Megumi, Urd grabbed her sisters and erected a barrier, and Hild… reached for a bag of popcorn.

" _YES! Live action adultery! Swe~et!_ " squealed the demoness, much to Tyr's chagrin. " _You never see it in full detail on those TV dramas!_ "

Before the cat could scratch the offending demoness, a shockwave pushed them all back as the air around Ansuz erupted. Static charges went off in every direction, striking anything within reach, Troubadour included, while a vein popped in her forehead. Finally, her eyes went from teal to a rich golden color as she could no longer hold her tongue back.

" _WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GLOMPING, YOU SON OF A BITCH?!_ "

"Uh…"

The harsh sound of rapid slapping filled the air, as the outraged goddess denied him any chance to offer an explanation. Instead she punished him for this most inappropriate act of immorality and then turned to the one she knew that was behind it. "Hild! What's the meaning of this?"

"Aw… come on! You should've at least given him a smooch," said the Daimakaicho's avatar, puckering her lips, only to infuriate her old rival even more than she currently was.

" _SMOOCH? HIM? RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY DAUGHTERS?_ "

Most would've simply broken down to tears by how terrible the goddess' gaze was, and those who could still control their faculties would definitely start apologizing. Hild however belonged to neither of those groups, as she was a category just by herself. "So… if that happened behind their backs, I could get to see the smooch?"

" _HILD! I'm serious here!_ " thundered the furious goddess, reminding herself that there were innocent bystanders that had nothing to do with this… troublemaker's mannerisms. "I warn you… If you keep acting like this, you're gonna get a spanking!"

"You know, if you put it like _that_. Then I'd definitely love getting a spanking from you, my naughty birdy," purred Hild behind half closed eyes, causing the goddess to instantly calm down; albeit from sheer shock. "You're the best one in all nine worlds when it comes to that stuff!"

Taking a step back in utter horror, the scandalized goddess immediately turned to the Norns who were staring back at her in wonder; especially the two younger ones whose faces were glowing crimson. " _NO! I'M NOT DOING THINGS LIKE THAT!... SHE'S JUST LYING! THEY'RE ALL LIES, I TELL YOU_!"

As comical as it was to see the second highest ranking deity panic and flap her winglets so hard that she could've taken off, Urd thought that this was getting out of hand. "Okay, that's more than enough, mom. Stop saying naughty stuff in front of everyone, or I'll take extreme measures."

"Hm… you mean either an Urd bolt, or weird medicine?" asked Hild, causing her daughter to narrow her eyes.

" _Hey! My medicine's not weird!_ "

"Okay, okay… calm down Urd-chan." Chuckling, the little Daimakaicho turned back at the teal haired goddess, ignoring Urd's glare who was still complaining that her medicine was perfectly normal. "It's been a while Ansuz. How have you been?"

"Busy, but what else is new?" replied the goddess as she finally relaxed completely, offering her adversary a tiny smile. "Say… this couldn't be your way to get me all they here, right Hild?"

"Oh, where did you ever got this silly idea from?" said the demoness, yet neither her tone nor her wink made anyone believe her.

"Uh… Kei-chan? I'm really confused… Are they friends or enemies?" asked Megumi as she gave her brother a puzzled look.

"Honestly? I've got no idea. At first they looked like enemies, but…" Turning to Vali who was still next to them, just in case his defense barriers were needed, Keiichi offered him an inquiring look.

"She's Tyr-sama's second wife and the mother of Urd's little sisters. I think that should explain more than enough," said Vali, a bit reluctant to say more while within earshot of those two. Still, given their stunned expressions, that was more than enough for now.

"Eh? _Mother?_ " asked Keiichi, hardly believing his ears. Even though he had seen what Hild looked like, Ansuz appeared to be even younger than her or at the very least, not as… developed as the aforementioned demoness.

"Oh, yes! That would be me!" With a wide smile on her face, the teal haired goddess stepped closer to Keiichi and stared at him. "Hm…"

" _Yes!_ We can still have some live action adultery!" said Hild, earning a few groans from the rest of them; Ansuz in particular.

"You're _really_ looking for trouble… Although, I must remind you that this is my full body, while all you have is a thousandth of your actual power! If you think you can win a fight against..."

"Defensive aren't we? Well, not that I blame you when you're so obviously intrigued by our Keiichi-kun! He's _so_ cute!" squealed Hild, much to everyone else's horror as Ansuz's eyes turned yellow once more.

" _You!..._ "

" **Enough! This banter is upsetting your daughters, so, find another game. Both of you!** "

It was rather surprising to hear a cat speak in such a deep, resonating voice, yet both Hild and Ansuz recovered much faster than anyone else present. Sharing a look, they let out a sigh and lowered their heads in resignation, as it became clear to them that fun and games were over.

"Yes, darling!" said both of them in perfect unison, before Ansuz gave Hild a rather pointed look.

"Hey, who are you calling _my_ darling, _your_ darling?"

"That's my line, humming bird!"

" _Humming bird?_ Oh, you _boobzilla!_ "

" **So be it… I wash my paws of this,** " muttered the possessed feline, utterly fed up with their incessant teasing. Turning to his side, the funny Daitenkaicho's eyes burned with a vibrant blue glow as he stared the only one who could put an end to this madness. " **Urd, I leave it to you.** "

"With pleasure!"

Grinning like a madwoman, the half goddess strode towards the quarreling duo and two karate chops later, peace was finally restored at the Tariki Hongan temple.

XXX

"So… you stole the scroll I've found and replaced it with a fake?"

Glancing to the side where Hild sat on Ansuz's lap, Keiichi had to admit that he was utterly lost. One moment those two were acting like enemies, the next like friends and now the goddess was actually cuddling the little demoness as if she was her best friend in the whole world. Then again… Urd standing behind them dressed in a UN soldier compete with the characteristic blue helmet might had something to do with it.

"Yes, that's quite correct! The moment I glomped you, I swapped those two scrolls," said Hild with a proud smile, turning back to the sight of a bandaged Troubadour practicing for the proper summoning song.

With an ice pack strapped on either side of his face to offer his swollen cheeks some relief, the almost comical looking Earth Spirit had just managed to rehearse the trickiest parts of the song and right on time too. Urd's favorite show was about to start any moment now and she was starting to lose her patience, as it became evident by the way she tapped her foot on the patio's wooden flooring.

"Are you ready _now_ or what?"

"Huh? Uh… yes, that's right! I think I can give it a try now," said Troubadour, clearing his throat and with a short pause he began to strum his harp. It was a soft, soothing tone and far different than his corny love songs, making Urd shake her head at how he wasted his talent on such obvious attempts to come up with some love song.

'If only he used his skills properly, then he wouldn't need a stupid bird. Okay… maybe that's a coming of age ritual for the plum tree spirits or something, but… He's probably better without any help as far as the vocals are concerned. All he really needs is someone else to write his lyrics. Boy, they're _so_ corny!'

"OH! Here it comes!" said Skuld as she pointed up in the sky, getting everyone's attention.

"How pretty…" said Belldandy, although her elder sister wasn't as impressed.

"That's it? Looks like an overgrown canary," muttered Urd with a rather bland expression on her face, as her father voiced _his_ opinion.

" _Mm…_ roasted on a low fire and served with sun dried tomatoes and sage." It took him a moment to notice that everyone was gawking at him, before he reached the inevitable conclusion that he had actually said that out loud. "Hey! I'm a currently using a cat's body! So, stop staring at me like that!"

"Hild's absolutely right, dear! Using a mortal body made you susceptible to gluttony!" said Ansuz, giving her husband a stern look. "From now on, you're on a diet, chubby kitty!"

" _What?!_ "

"My Golden Nightingale, I finally meet you!" The delighted Troubadour could hardly hold back the tears of joy as his feathered familiar landed on his shoulder; only to turn to tears of pain. " _Ooof! You're heavy!_ "

However, instead of a normal chirp for a reply, the bird let out a series of harsh, repeating tweets, some of them short while other drawn out. It was so loud, distorted and brutal, that most of the bystanders just _had_ to protect their ears with their hands; Troubadour included.

"Why is it making these sounds!" asked the devastated Earth Spirit.

"Dunno!" shot Urd back at him, trying to shout over the pulsing sounds "Just kill it with fire! Please! _Anyone_!"

"Uh… hold on a second!" said Megumi, one of the two unaffected individuals that didn't react as negatively by the Nightingale's… chirping. Turning to her somewhat intrigued brother who was the other one not cringing by this performance, she had to make sure that her assumption was right. "Kei-chan… isn't that?..."

"Dubstep? I think that's the case Megumi," said Keiichi with a nod, despite being the first time hearing such a thing from a bird. Sure, some of them chirped in a repetitive manner, but this took it to a totally different level altogether.

"Huh? _Dub… what?_ " asked the still shell shocked Troubadour after he found out that having longer, more sensitive ears wasn't always an advantage.

"Dubstep. It's pretty popular these days," said Keiichi with a smile, while Megumi offered a nod to affirm her brother's claim, seeing that the immortals around them were rather dubious. "With a bird like that, you'll become famous in no time!"

"But! It sounds… _weird!_ " protested the poor Earth Spirit as the Nightingale offered its version of a happy chirp, causing his teeth to rattle.

"Well, it is certainly something different, especially for a more traditional musician, but… like I said… it sells!" Shrugging, Keiichi could almost feel the intense battle going on inside the Earth Spirit's head, with one side begging him to just roast the stupid thing, while the other saw it as a golden opportunity to become really popular.

"Hm… In that case, I shall prevail and master this new form of music to reach out and touch the very souls of my audience!"

"And instead blow their ears off…" muttered Urd under her breath, wincing as that infernal bird started again with its dubstep.

Preparing to fly off, Troubadour paused for a moment and then looked back. "I…"

"It's fine… Just go and and realize your dreams," said Urd with a smile, before her expression turned sour. "And take that overgrown chicken with you too! Boy, it's really loud!"

"T-Thank you Urd! Farewell my love!"

Watching him fly away, Urd couldn't help but look at the ground for a while, but quickly shook her head and tried to cheer up. "Okay! I think it's about time to… NO! my show had already started!"

Rushing back into the house and accidentally stepping on the possessed cat's tail, Urd left the others laughing with her spontaneous reactions; well, all except for Tyr who caressed his trampled tail. It was nice to see her in high spirits after her ex's unexpected visit, and slowly the others started to head back in too.

Only after everyone was gone did Mara emerge from the tree she's been hiding; just outside of the temple's perimeter wall. With a huge grin on her face, the demoness was pleased with the huge success of her reconnaissance mission, and more specifically the fact that she came up with one in the first place. Normally, Mara would've simply charge head on, but in a situation like this she knew that a different sort of approach was needed.

'I think I've got everything I need now! A memory booster will help Urd remember everything and after that, considering that this was Asgard's fault, her license suspension will be revoked! And… and if she's angry with them, she might even decide to join us instead of going back there! In that case we can hang around any time we want and Hild-sama will give me a _huge_ promotion! I mean… why would she stay with those guys anymore? Oh, this is it! I've finally got a foolproof plan! There's no way it's going to fail!'

Resisting the urge to cackle like a madwoman, Mara flew towards the city where she could prepare her memory booster without any interruptions. She was so happy that she didn't even notice the power line until it was far too late.

" _Oowww! Who put that there?!_ "

From within the house, a shout of sheer outrage could be heard when the lights went out.

" _NO! Just when he was just about to kiss her! DAMMIT!_ "

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

I would also like to thank ObeliskX for the initial suggestion for a reverse harem setting that led to this story.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

Although Mara's role in this chapter was very limited, I've felt that it was necessary for her to take a look of what was going on before she gets really involved with what's going on at the temple. However, rest assured, that this will most certainly happen in the next chapter.

Now, as far as the current chapter is concerned, I must admit that I was a bit cautious as to how to approach Troubadour's situation. While I wanted to offer some realism as to how Urd would react to his rather silly yet dangerous curse, going overboard could easily turn this into a case of character bashing and no matter how unpopular he may be, I don't like writing such stories. On the other hand, I believe that her reaction in canon AMG was a bit underwhelming and as such, I felt that I had to find a middle ground between those two approaches. Hopefully, my approach along with the added humor kept this chapter in the right track and it's not too much of a one sided critique of a particular character.


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

* * *

Footsteps echoed throughout the empty walls of the once lively arcade. With the advent of video game consoles and personal computers, few dedicated arcades managed to remain in business and even then, location was fairly important. While the relatively cheap land value of this remote area of the city was once seen as an advantage, it soon turned into a fatal flaw that left the arcade's owners no other option but to shut down their business. With customers of all ages having better alternatives for entertainment, they no longer bothered to come all the way to this area just to play video games.

Yet for the only person who visited this place these days, the privacy it provided her overshadowed any of its other downsides. After introducing herself to Keiichi's sister back when the mortal student inadvertently released her, Mara felt that keeping a low profile was extremely important if she wished for her plan to succeed.

In all honesty, the demoness often found herself questioning the entire purpose of such an effort in the first place. What initially seemed to be an easy task, suddenly became a major undergoing, given the rarity of some of the needed ingredients. Urd's double nature as both a goddess and a demoness made it really hard for her to create a memory booster, as she had to make a 2 in 1 solution for both her friend's sides to remember their past. It was a far more complex project than initially anticipated and to make matters even worse, some of the required materials were only available in Asgard. And while it was feasible for demons to purchase them, the celestials closely monitored their distribution, making them a very rare commodity in demonic supply shops.

Worse, it wasn't a first come first serve kind of situation either, with orders coming from influential demons always taking priority. So, despite being a first class demoness, Mara got used of receiving those stereotypical excuses from her suppliers that the item she had supposedly purchased days ago was… diverted to another client. And although they promised her that the next batch would definitely go to her, with an added gift or two thrown in there as compensation, the very same scenario kept repeating itself.

For nearly two months, the only thing she could do was wait for the final and most elusive ingredient of them all, to complete her potion; all while Urd's sisters kept visiting her every other day. At this rate, the half goddess had already recovered most parts of her memory and Mara's greatest worry was that by the time she completed the darn thing, Urd wouldn't even need it anymore.

'What's the point of making a remedy when the ailment is gone? Hm… perhaps her sisters' pointless visits aren't so… pointless after all. They're definitely getting better results than my stupid plan!'

Letting out a sigh, Mara decided to take her frustrations by playing a few games, since that was the only source of entertainment that was available to her. Perhaps more than those setbacks, what really annoyed and disappointed her was that Urd made no attempt to come into contact with her during those last two months. Sure, it was entirely possible that Megumi failed to mention her name or even the fact that she met her in the first place, but given how often she visited the temple, Mara doubted that this was the case.

'Not that I blame her… Trying to split her two personalities was a bit of a dumb thing to do. No wonder she probably hates me, or just wishes to avoid me.'

Part of her really wished to make up for that stupid idea of hers to create two versions of Urd, and curing the Norn's amnesia appeared to be the best opportunity to redeem herself in the goddess' eyes; and even appease Hild who sealed her in the first place. If Urd realized that she tried so hard to help her, it was much more likely to forgive her than just showing up with a bottle of sake and a stereotypical apology for her blunder.

"Special delivery for miss Mara!"

Nearly jumping as the unexpected voice interrupted her game of Street Fighter, Mara turned around to face her uninvited guest and give him a piece of her mind, when she noticed that it was a devil octopus; a type familiar often used by demons for simple tasks. And judging by the logo on his baseball cap, he was employed by Niflheim's postal service and the box he was carrying contained the very thing she's been waiting for.

"Yes, that's me!"

"Uh… sorry for barging in like that, but I couldn't find a doorbell anywhere and…"

"Never mind that!" said Mara, waving a hand in front of her. "That's for me, right?"

"Huh? Of course! There's nobody else here to deliver this parcel to…"

" _Whohoo! Finally!_ " Jumping up and down in joy, the blonde demoness couldn't help but express her happiness with her very own victory dance, much to the familiar's astonishment.

'Wow… never seen anyone so happy for receiving their mail order. It may be a pain to carry these heavy boxes around but it's _so_ much better than delivering bills. At least she's not likely to turn me into takoyaki…'

XXX

"What's up with the long face, Dagaz? It's not like you to look this serious."

Staring up from his cup of tea that had already gone cold a while ago, the blonde god spot Vali in his battle uniform, probably preparing for his morning patrol around the temple grounds. "Honestly? I think that it should've been fairly obvious."

"If that was the case, then I would've never asked in the first place."

"Sounds fair…" said Dagaz with a sigh, trying to figure out the best way to talk about what he thought that was the proverbial elephant in the room. "Look, I just think that we're kind of unnecessary here. Urd's certainly doesn't need our help anymore and with Skuld and Belldandy dropping by for a visit on an almost daily basis… there's no reason for us to stick around anymore."

"From a practical point of view, I suppose you're indeed correct. Urd is no longer the confused goddess she used to be when she first came here, but… wasn't our goal to help her get over that very problem?"

"Yes, and I'm really happy that she had already recovered most of her memories," said Dagaz, trying to avoid a misunderstanding here. "I'm not implying that her recovery is inconvenient for me or anything. It's just that… I wonder if there's any reason for us to stick around anymore."

"Well, she still hasn't recovered all of her memories and we're still friends, right?" said the war god cadet, even though he knew what his fellow god was hinting at. He too wondered at times if there was a reason for him to act as Urd's bodyguard anymore when she was perfectly capable of using her magic to defend herself. Even more, there was little reason to think that there was a significant threat here on the mortal realm that could overwhelm Urd, and in the process justify his presence as her backup.

" _Friends…_ yeah."

Sensing the disappointment in Dagaz's voice, Vali knew that it was inevitable to have this conversation at some point; even he wasn't looking forward to it. "I'm well aware that you wanted to attract her attention and for the most part I think she likes you, but… not in a romantic manner. And I believe that's what she probably thinks about me, too."

"We never really had a chance from the beginning, didn't we?"

"No, not really, to be honest with you."

"I knew it… At least, back when I first met her, I blamed that stupid boyfriend of hers for ruining my chances, but now… I think my tendency to act like an idiot whenever women are involved, put her off," admitted Dagaz as he took a sip of his tea, making a grimace. "Bleh… it's gone cold…"

"I disagree. In some ways, that was exactly what made her like you, considering that she would've otherwise made her annoyance rather evident. In all honestly the one who was the least successful was me," said Vali with a frown that was slightly off character for the otherwise stoic god. "I barely did anything to attract her attention other than my job, which is quite evident by the way she acts around you and Keiichi. It's been a while since she actually tried to tease me in any sort of way and while I'm not too thrilled to be the recipient of those pranks, it proves that I never had a chance to begin with."

"Don't be so sure about that. Although you've failed to attract Urd's attention, I think that her middle sister is more than interested," said Dagaz with a grin, as he noticed the cadet's embarrassment at his analysis. "Belldandy clearly doesn't mind a more serious and quiet god, which is the exact opposite of me, and with Urd paying so much attention to Keiichi, I'm the only one who really failed to do anything in that department."

"Maybe… although you did make some friends here." It felt kind of strange for him to say that, but for some reason that put a smile on Vali's face; one that Dagaz eventually returned.

"You know… you're right about that. I guess that's why I don't want to hold a grudge on Keiichi for ending up as the favorite. Friends stand up for each other, right?"

"Indeed… And I must admit that you took it much better than I've feared you would. But enough with all this doom and gloom," said Vali with a shake of his head. "We're still here and even if they wish to get closer, we can always move to the city for a while before going back to our duties in Asgard. There's no need to suddenly pack our things and go, as soon as it's evident that we're not going to get a girlfriend out of this."

"Yeah… that's not chill at all. Sure, I don't want to get in their way, but… I wish to avoid giving them the impression that I'm angry or disappointed from the outcome. Like I said… friends stand up for each other."

Offering the blonde god a nod, Vali was pleased that he had the opportunity to talk about this whole subject with him in private before Keiichi and Urd returned from Whirlwind. He knew that one day they'd all have to go back to their old lives, but he'd rather prefer if they parted on friendly terms and furthermore; stay in touch over the years to come. "That's quite true. And I might see if we could use Belldandy's apartment for a while, if we need to give them some personal space. Huh?… Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Already going for the younger sister?" asked Dagaz with a grin, making the other god blush a bit. "Boy, you're really fast!"

"Hey, I never said we were going to live with her too! She can come here and have a room, or…"

And as the two gods kept going on with their conversation, albeit in a more lighthearted way, Tyr couldn't help but smile. He had actually heard the whole thing from across the hallway, while he enjoyed his morning cup of coffee in the kitchen and was quite pleased with the outcome.

'Hm… it's nice to see some of the youngsters to try and act in a mature manner. I worried that in the end this whole situation would leave two of those three with a bitter taste in their mouths, but… for once I'm glad I was wrong. Perhaps, they might stay friends even after Urd picks Keiichi as her boyfriend. Well… if that happens, she's definitely feel a lot more at ease knowing that nothing bad came out of this.'

XXX

Wiping the sweat from forehead with his sleeve after managing to remove a seized bolt from an old bike, Keiichi paused to take a look over his shoulder at Urd. Despite everything that happened during the last couple of months, the half goddess acted as if nothing had changed at all; and to a certain degree Keiichi couldn't help but smile at her. She was still the same playful and somewhat mischievous woman he had originally met when she first came to this shop, only now he knew that she was a goddess.

"Hey, Morisato-kun… do you have a moment?"

Blinking, Keiichi turned to Chihiro who was also working on the same bike as he did and noticed that she pointed towards the door. "Huh? Sure… I think I need a break anyway."

Following her outside the shop, the dark haired mechanic had to admit that he was rather curious as to what his boss wanted to talk about, and judging by her expression, Chihiro appeared to be serious. "So… um… what's the matter?"

"I suppose that there's no easy way to say it, but… next month this shop won't be here." Holding up a hand to stop Keiichi, before he bombarded her with all sorts of questions, Chihiro decided to offer a quick explanation. "Wait… let me finish!... No, I'm not closing Whirlwind, it's just that… there's not enough space for us here. I love this little shop, yet it's painfully obvious that I need to move on and open a bigger one. A larger version of Whirlwind that will give up the much needed room for this business to expand and become a real shop in some people's eyes."

"Huh? That's… actually great news!" said Keiichi, after he recovered from his initial surprise. "It's about time we take the next step!"

"I know…" said Chihiro, looking back at the shop with a proud smile on her face. "I've grown attached to this place so I've postponed it for as much as possible, but at this point it's not doing anyone a favor. However… I came to realize that this might be a golden opportunity for you as well. You know… instead of selling this place, how about you take over instead?"

" _Me?_ But!... What about Whirlwind?" asked the dark haired mechanic, realizing that he had to pick between following Chihiro in her new shop or take her offer and open his own shop.

"Well… you're always going to have a position there if you wish, Keiichi-kun. In all honesty, I'd rather have you keep your job as my lead mechanic and simply employ an additional assistant or two, but… I know that perhaps that's not what you really want. Sure, you already have the position and the pay's going to improve now that I've managed to save enough money to open a bigger shop, yet… as a former member of the Motor Club, I know that you want more than that. I remember you mentioning back then that you wanted to build your dream bike, and you'll never manage to realize that by following someone else's footsteps," said Chihiro, offering him a smile, as she wanted to make clear that this wasn't a pretense to get rid of him. Keiichi had indeed proven himself as a mechanic and letting him go was a tough decision for Chihiro, yet in the end, she knew that this was right thing to do. "Don't worry too much about it, though. It's going to take a couple of weeks before the new shop is ready, so give it some thought in the meanwhile."

"I kind of want to say yes, but… is it really the best option? It's possible that I'm going to be a lot more successful as part of Whirlwind, instead of starting my own shop. So many things can go wrong and in the end, I might end up without anything," admitted Keiichi, feeling the weight of such a decision too much for him to bear. He knew that opportunities like that didn't show up every day, yet the risk of ending up penniless and unemployed, made the mechanic wonder what was the best thing to do.

"When I gave up my career as head mechanic of a professional racing team, a lot of people thought I was crazy; that I was basically wasting my talent to pursue a foolish dream. Admittedly, they were right from a certain perspective as I'm making far less money now, compared to what I was paid back then. Yet… I can't say that I was happier during those days. As scary as it was for me to open Whirlwind in the first place, I never regretted my decision and I had a lot of fun doing it. In the process I've met a lot of people, yourself included Keiichi-kun, and above all… I pursued my dream."

"I see. Well, I guess it's kind of obvious what I might say, but I still need some time to think about it. At least… to come up with an excuse, should I happen to fail and Urd gets mad with me," said Keiichi with a chuckle, and soon Chihiro joined in too.

"Already afraid of her? That's something you're supposed to do after you're married, Keiichi-kun; not before," laughed Chihiro, giving her mechanic a pat on the shoulder. "And speaking of Urd, I know that it's none of my business, but don't you think that it's about time you ask her out?"

"Uh… well… it's a bit complicated, actually." Keiichi knew that from Chihiro's perspective it made no sense that he and Urd lived together and yet they weren't a couple. Then again, there a lot of things about this whole situation that his boss was blissfully unaware of, and Keiichi had no intentions of telling everyone about Urd's true nature. Still, a part of his mind began to wonder if she was right from a certain perspective. If he simply remained quiet for far too long, then someone else would end up dating Urd; most likely one of his two other housemates, or even someone else from her past. After meeting Troubadour, the young mechanic wondered if more of her ex boyfriends would drop by for a visit and if one of them proved to be more diplomatic than the musician was… then he'd immediately have a tremendous advantage over anyone else. 'I mean… why would she date a mere mortal?'

"Tell me something new… It's always complicated when such topics are concerned, and for the most part, it's even scarier than other risks we need to take in our lives. Still… this is also a case of chasing your dreams and if you wait forever, that opportunity will be inevitably lost. I won't pretend that it's going to be easy for you Keiichi-kun, but as with racing, there's no chance of winning unless you give it a try."

"Yes, you're right. I think that I've got a few things to consider, both about the shop and what I'm going to do with Urd. It sure won't be easy, but at the very least, I'm indeed going to do my best; in both cases." Keiichi sure felt quite nervous, yet not nearly as much as he had initially anticipated. After all, he couldn't help but feel excited about the prospect of realizing his dreams and for that reason, Keiichi knew that he had to make the best out of this opportunity.

"As expected of you, Keiichi-kun! Well… I wish you the best of luck, and I'm still going to wait for your official decision in a few weeks from now. Until then, let's go back to work."

XXX

As soon as Urd was left alone in the shop, she leaned back in her chair and momentarily forgot all about the magazine she'd been previously reading. For the last couple of days the half goddess felt a presence around her, even when she was theoretically alone and while she ignored it at first, Urd could no longer dismiss it as a figment of her imagination.

' _Mistress…_ '

She knew that just like any other grownup goddess, Urd must have an angel of her own and the whispers she occasionally heard was attributed to the one person who was closest to her than anyone else. Yet in all irony, Urd couldn't talk to or even summon her angel, although the exact reason eluded her. It was clear that whatever took place back then must've been something she really didn't wish to remember and in her current state, that became an actuality. Even without those memories, the half goddess suspected that the most likely reason behind that was her very nature and all the trouble she had accepting what she was during her early childhood. An angel is a reflection of their host's innermost self and for Urd her dual nature was inevitably going to have an effect on her angel's appearance.

'I must've been really disappointed or scared by her, back then. All I wanted was to fit in and an angel with pure white wings would've made things so much easier, but… it was such a foolish thought. It's such a pity… to have one of the most unique angels wasted on someone as stupid as me, who couldn't appreciate her for what she really represented.'

'Well, it took you long enough to figure it out, but… hey, better late than never,' came the almost unexpected reply that caused Urd to look straight up at the ethereal being that hovered above her; only to end up falling from her chair due to her shock.

" _Oof! What the?!..._ " Rubbing her bottom as she tried to pick herself up from the cold metal floor, Urd could hardly believe her eyes. "You're... you're..."

'World of Elegance, at your service,' said the dichromatic angel, striking a dramatic pose for her stunned mistress. 'Long time no see, and by the way… you filled in quite nicely too.'

"Look who's talking! You're pretty impressive for an angel," said Urd with a grin as she dusted herself once she was properly off the floor. "You know, I really wanted to meet you again."

'And that's why I'm here, actually. Once you've lost your memories I was allowed to roam around for a while, since you couldn't remember the order you gave me, but I still didn't wish to appear out of the blue. Now that most of your memories are back and you truly need me, I suppose it's good enough reason for me to show up,' explained the angel as she looked around at the various items in the shop.

Blinking, Urd followed her angel as the latter floated around the tiny shop. "Huh? I don't want to sound ungrateful, but what do you mean by that?"

'It's simple, really. You're having trouble deciding what to do from this point on and desperately _need_ another opinion, although you don't _want_ to ask anyone. So, who's better to offer you advice than the person that knows you better than anyone else?' said World of Elegance with a tiny smirk as she hovered slightly above her mistress' eye level.

Letting out a sigh, Urd knew that this wasn't going to be an easy conversation, since she was essentially talking to the most harsh of critics: herself, or rather… an aspect of her own person. "Alright, I guess there's no need to try avoiding the topic, so… what do you think I should do? Stay here with Keiichi, or go back to Asgard with Vali or Dagaz?"

'Honestly? I kind of like all of them, but if I had to pick a favorite, I'd have to admit that I've got a soft spot for Keiichi. He's the one who took us in without much of a second thought, and while he cannot directly compare to any celestial in terms of powers, status and even lifespan… Do you really _need_ all that?'

 _Need._

It was a simple word, yet not nearly as easy to define, considering that everyone had vastly different priorities and goals. For most of her life, Urd had only two primary goals: to fit into the celestial society, and to look after her sisters. But in all honestly, the first one was more or less abandoned by now, since she really took pride at what she was and foregoing her ancestry just to blend into a faceless crowd… didn't quite appeal to her. Her sisters were no longer the little goddesses either, especially Belldandy who was old enough to do whatever she wanted and Skuld was already a teenager by celestial standards and soon would be independent too. Not that they'd grow apart and stop talking to each other, but at this point Urd had the luxury of thinking more about herself and what she wanted for her own future. "Honestly?... I'm not really sure what I need, Elegance. There are so many things, and I've even gotten to have some progress with a few of them, like… talking to my mother for instance. But on the other hand… am I really ready for a serious commitment?"

'You're not obligated to pick anyone, if that's what you're worried about. We can always go back to our old lifestyle without a care in the world, but… this isn't just something we can change our mind about at a later date. Once we make a decision, it's more or less final, especially with Keiichi who's a mortal and can't just wait forever until we make up our minds. So, do you want him or not?'

There was a long pause as the half goddess stared at her angel without saying a word; thinking about her options and their natural consequences, until she finally came to a conclusion. "I do like him, and I believe that the whole amnesia thing is no longer a valid reason to postpone this decision. I'm just worried that in the end I'll be left alone, since Keiichi's a mortal and… well you know. Even worse, I'm not sure what kind of a partner I'll manage to be for him, Elegance. The idea of being a _housewife_ doesn't sound all too appealing to me, and given my nature, I doubt that I'll even manage to have kids with him. Sure, Keiichi's not the kind of person to suddenly decide to go old fashioned on me if we get married, but the latter issue is a huge problem. All humans want to leave some sort of legacy behind, and having descendants is one of the top items in the list."

'Yes, but not all human couples can conceive children. Yet it doesn't deter them from staying together, so stop using that narrow minded approach of the whole subject. There are more things involved here and as long as Keiichi's aware of it, then everything should be fine. After all, if he wishes to be with you regardless of that issue, then what's your problem?'

Urd stopped for a moment to consider her angel's words and although they could argue about the pros and cons of the whole subject, along several other practical issues that would definitely arise if she decided to stay on Earth for a prolonged period of time, the half goddess knew that this wasn't the root of the problem. Even more, World of Elegance was definitely aware of it too, and the most likely reason of asking her was to force Urd to admit it. After all, there wasn't any way of fixing a problem without identifying it first. So, with a heavy sigh, the Norn of the past decided to do just that; confess her own insecurities. "The thing is… I don't want to screw this up. Up until now I've never had a single relationship to write home about and I'm actually worried that I'll end up making a fool of myself with this one. This is a big commitment and I'm not known for keeping up with such long term goals."

'You're pretty bad alright… But hey, if it makes you feel a bit better, some brides here on Earth run away with the best man right after the wedding. The worst you could possibly do is wear my clothes for a wedding gown.' said the dichromatic angel with a giggle, tugging the white fabric around her that was the only means of providing herself with some modesty.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea, now that you mention it," said Urd with a grin. "Although, I don't think that Keiichi's going to stay conscious for long enough to finish the ceremony with me dressed like that. Maybe… we could try it for the wedding night, instead."

As both of them chuckled at the mental image of Keiichi seeing them dressed in such a seemingly skimpy outfit, the door opened, allowing the aforementioned mortal to get a glimpse of World of Elegance and for a moment he nearly suffered a stroke.

" _Wha-...?!_ " Stumbling backwards, Keiichi nearly landed on Chihiro who was following after him and thankfully caught the startled man before he fell on the ground.

"Whoa! Are you okay, Morisato-kun?"

"Uh… Y-Yes… I kind of stumbled that's all," said the embarrassed mortal, trying to come up with an excuse, while the angel rushed to hide back into her hostess.

"Here, let me give you a hand," said Urd as she approached Keiichi and then added in a low whisper. "I'll explain later."

"Thanks, Urd!"

XXX

As soon as Chihiro left the shop to get some new parts from a supplier, Keiichi had the perfect opportunity to discuss what he saw with Urd, and much to her embarrassment, World of Elegance was more than happy to introduce herself to him; by glomping him of course.

"Please don't obstruct his nose with your chest… Humans need air to survive, and there are much better ways to die that getting smothered in such a fashion." Rubbing her temples, Urd knew she was far from innocent as he angel was acting in a very similar manner to what she would've done if their positions were reversed.

'It's okay, I've let him enough space to breathe,' sent World of Elegance through the link she shared with her mistress; although the latter had other ideas. 'Besides, what's the point of wearing something _this_ skimpy and not to brag about the goodies underneath it?'

"That's enough fun for now." Pulling her angel away from the blushing mechanic who simply stood there stunned, Urd decided to offer the necessary explanations. Since Keiichi couldn't hear the angel's voice, the half goddess had to properly introduce her angel to her mortal friend. "Keiichi, meet my angel; World of Elegance."

"Uh… nice to meet you," said Keiichi with some reservation, after experiencing this winged beauty's previous display of affection. Still, curiosity got the better of him and moved a bit closer to take a better look at her. Not only did she have one white and one black wing, but her hair consisted of two tones as well, while a series of dark tattoo like patterns covered most of her body. Even more striking were her eyes, one blue and the other red, and although heterochromia did exist in humans too, in her case it gave her a rather imposing appearance. Yet despite all that, Keiichi couldn't help but feel calmer in the angel's presence, almost as if the soft glow she gave away had a soothing effect for him.

'Mistress, I think he likes me! Or at least, he digs my outfit!'

Making an effort not to groan to that kind of response, Urd was for once actually glad that humans couldn't hear an angel's voice. "She says that she's happy to meet you, but since she's mostly talking through telepathy, I'll have to translate that for you," explained Urd, although part of it was a lie to avoid telling him exactly what her angel had originally said.

"Oh, that's fine. I'm still happy to meet her too. Still… what does an angel do?" asked the awestruck mortal as he looked at World of Elegance.

"Well… it's a bit hard to describe, but… in essence they support us in all sorts of situations. From simple spells to songs and even during combat and angel can enhance our abilities making some things a lot easier to…" Pausing for a moment when she noticed that Keiichi was watching at her angel with his eyes wide open, Urd followed his gaze and froze. Written on a piece of paper World of Elegance must've gotten from the counter, there was one word; yet that's all the angel needed to convey her message.

 _Threesomes._

" _Hey! Gimme that!_ " Wrestling the offending note out of the angel's hands, Urd could only curse the need for their symbiotic partners to be so similar to their hosts. 'Seriously! It's like fighting against an immature version of myself!...'

'The kettle called the pot black, mistress…'

However, before she could offer a proper reply, the phone rang and Urd decided to answer it. "I'll get it. As for you, miss… We're going to have a talk later."

Giggling, the dichromatic angel went back into her mistress' body, but not before she offered Keiichi a wink. And while Urd talked to what apparently appeared to be a client, Keiichi had little else to do other than go back to work. He was still wondering about the whole situation with Whirlwind and what to do with Urd, although it was certain that leaving things like that was out of question. Then again, he was uncertain what was the best way to approach the whole topic. The stereotypical methods of buying her presents and flowers in order to ask her out, sounded a bit off to Keiichi, who worried that it might look like an effort to bribe her. Also, if he tried to ask her out and the others attempted the same, the whole situation would change for sure. Up until now, the three men of the household were coexisting without issues, but once it turned into a competition of shorts, there was little doubt that things could turn poorly for him. After all, unless he did something extraordinary, Keiichi worried that a mere mortal wouldn't have a chance compared to two gods.

'I need something to get her attention, but… what? If it's just a present, she might think I'm trying to buy her favor. Besides, if it comes down to money, both Vali and Dagaz can probably cough up a _lot_ more cash than I'll ever earn throughout my entire life. There's gotta be something else...'

Putting the handset back on the phone, Urd turned to her mortal coworker who was eerily quiet, as he simply sat there in front of a bike without actually doing anything. "Hey, Keiichi. We've got a broken bike, so can you go and get it with the van?"

Snapping out of it, Keiichi offered her a nod and made an effort to forget about all those matters for the moment. "Uh, sorry about that, Urd. I was just thinking about stuff and all. Do you have the address?"

"Here, I wrote it down for you," said Urd as she handed him a note, and then grinned as he rushed out of the door. 'I guess he hadn't read the whole thing. Oh, well… it's only a matter of time until he notices what I've also added there. In the meanwhile, let's try to find a place for us to have dinner.'

XXX

Waiting for the traffic light to turn green, Keiichi couldn't help but wonder what was the best way to ask Urd out, and even more, where to take her for a date. He had literally no idea about that kind of stuff, since he never really had any luck with women, although it was mostly due to his poor attempts to gain their attention and lack of confidence.

'Maybe that expensive restaurant we've been to a while ago? Although… I'm not sure if I can afford that, and I'd hate to ask Urd to pay for share of the food. Now… _that_ would be a disaster.'

Checking the note once more to make sure that he wasn't heading in the totally wrong direction, Keiichi froze when he realized that there was a postscript at the bottom, that he had completely missed.

 _Hey, want to go on a date with me? Don't worry, I'm not expecting anything fancy, just something fun - Urd :3_

The blaring sound of a horn from the car behind him brought the stunned mortal back to reality and as he drove towards his destination, Keiichi realized that it was Urd the one who actually asked him out.

'Oh boy… she's for real? Well… it's not her style to joke for something like that, so…'

With a huge, almost comical smile on his face, Keiichi's mind began to focus on his upcoming date, while totally unaware that he wasn't the only one who was planning to make their move.

XXX

When the shop's door opened, Urd was half expecting to see a customer, since it was far too early for Keiichi to return, but the nervous delivery girl with a cup of coffee in one hand and a bag with a few takoyaki in it was a rather unexpected sight; especially since none of them ordered for any food.

"Excuse me… I've brought your order," said the brunette, trying her best to avoid looking at Urd straight in the eyes, while the latter raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? I haven't ordered anything. Are you sure you're in the right place?" asked the half goddess, who couldn't help but feel that she recognized that voice from somewhere. Although the one she remembered was a blonde and more importantly… a demoness.

"This is Whirlwind, right? Maybe someone else ordered it?" suggested the girl with a shrug, doing her best to act as if everything was normal.

"Well… perhaps Keiichi did? Oh, well… you can leave it here," said Urd, before she reached for her wallet, before the girl stopped her.

"Oh, there's no need for that! We've already received payment, so please enjoy!"

The moment the mysterious brunette left, Urd gave the food a rather curious look, wondering just what was going on with this setup. 'Who paid for this? Maybe Keiichi got that on the way to that bike? Weird… Oh well, at least this takoyaki look delicious and I might as well drink the coffee. By the time Keiichi gets back, it's going to be far too cold.'

XXX

'YES!'

Taking her wig off, while her markings appeared on her face, Mara was more than happy to see that her little plan to make Urd take the literal bait… actually worked. She was worried that at some point, the half goddess would see through her disguise and recognize her, but for once, luck was on her side.

'Oh… this is _so_ awesome! The moment she drinks that coffee, my potion's going to do its trick!'

"So… there you are, Ma-chan!"

Letting out a scream as an unexpected voice came from behind her, the terrified blonde turned to face the one and only Daimakaicho; or rather, her childlike avatar. " _H-Hild-sama?_ "

"My, my… why do you seem so surprised? After all, _I_ was the one who had you released, so… what are you up to this time?" asked the grinning demoness as she hovered up to Mara's eye level. "I've noticed that you gave Urd something…"

"Oh, yes! It's my ultimate memory booster!" said the proud demoness as she expected her boss' praise, only to realize that Hild was far from convinced.

"Really? And… how did you make her drink it? From what I remember, the stuff is way too bitter."

"Actually, I anticipated that, so I've put the potion in a cup of coffee and added plenty of sugar to improve its taste. And given that coffee's already bitter, it's unlikely for Urd to suspect anything," said Mara, still proud of her resourcefulness.

" _Sugar?! You put a potion like that in something that contains lots of sugar?_ " shouted the horrified Daimakaicho.

"Uh… that's… bad?"

"Of course it's bad! Do you have idea what happens when you mix that with sugar? Actually… scrap that! We need to stop her before she drinks it!"

"YES!" Running after her boss, Mara couldn't believe how she had forgotten about such an important detail. Before adding any kind of potion in another solution, one had to make sure that none of its ingredients reacted with the potion itself, and in this case she really messed up; big time.

'Dammit! It was my golden opportunity and I screwed up everything! Let's hope it's not too late!'

XXX

Munching on her takoyaki, Urd looked around the shop in wonder; almost as if this was the first time she had been here. Her purple, cat-like irises absorbed all the details of the fascinating yet utterly mundane objects surrounding her, almost beckoning the inquisitive Norn to find out more about them.

'Why am I locked in such a tiny place? Is this a prison? Actually… do they think that such a thing can hold me in? How insulting…'

Knocking on the shop's metal wall, Urd was fairly certain that she could blow the whole place up without even putting any effort in it, and even more, the assortment of items around her didn't appear to be typical of what one would encounter inside a cell.

'Hm… this looks like the… mortal realm? Why am I even in here to begin with?'

At that moment, the door swung open causing Urd to nearly jump, before she immediately prepared to face whoever attempted to ambush her. Only in this case, her wannabe assailant appeared to be a childish version of her own mother, who looked around the shop until she spotted her.

"Urd! Did you drink from that coffee?" asked the little Daimakaicho as she rushed to check the now empty cup that was left on the counter.

"Hey, nice to see you again, too," was the hybrid's almost sarcastic response that made Hild pause and take a better look at her daughter.

'Oh no… That's what we needed…' Instead of the familiar blue markings of a goddess, Urd had the red markings of a demoness and even more, the triangle on her forehead had changed to a five pointed star; similar to what she had on her cheeks. "Okay… look here, Urd… You drank something that probably destabilized your inner balance and…"

"Hey, did you just call me crazy?" asked the half demoness with annoyance clearly painted in her face, glaring at her mother's tiny avatar.

"No, I'm merely saying that your goddess and demoness sides are not attuned to each other as they used to be," said Hild as calm as she possibly could, trying to avoid agitating the oversensitive hybrid. It was painfully obvious that in her current state of mind, Urd could get out of control at the drop of a hat and Hild wished to avoid dealing with something that troublesome.

"Huh… now that you mention it, you're kind of right. I can't hear all that constant nagging at the back of my mind," said Urd, scratching her head in wonder, before she suddenly looked up in excitement. "Hey... without my goddess side holding me back, I'm finally free to do whatever I want! I can even take over this whole planet and use it as my own property, for all I care! With all those lucrative contracts available to me and _only_ me, I'll become the greatest Daimakaicho ever!"

"That's not how it's supposed to work, Urd! If you do this, then Asgard's retaliation will be more than enough to ruin everything and turn this place into a war zone!" said Hild in an effort to reason with her daughter. "Sustainability is way more important than short term profits. And besides… I'm still the Daimakaicho here!"

" _Bla bla bla…_ You just don't have the nerves to pull off something this ballsy and come up with all sorts of excuses," said Urd with a cruel smile. "However, I'm not as much of a scaredy cat as you and I'll prove it! Actually… I might as well start by sealing off all my competitors before they get to ruin my plans!"

Without the slightest of warnings, the whole place was reduced to a smoldering pile of smithereens, sending Hild flying out of the now ruined bike shop. " _Oof! That girl!..._ "

"H-Hild-sama? Are you alright?" asked Mara from her hiding position behind a relatively sizable dumpster.

"I'm fine, but thanks for nothing, Ma-chan!" snapped Hild before waving a hand in Whirlwind's direction and used a restoration spell to prevent humans from finding out what happened here. "But enough of that! We must go after her and stop Urd before she becomes a serious problem!"

Trying her best to nod and not turn pale, as she watched the broken shop repair itself under the influence of Hild's spell, Mara knew that Urd would've no qualms to blow them up like that. Perhaps she might restrain herself from causing too much damage, at least not in a lethal manner, yet there was no doubt that this was going to _hurt_.

"Good! Now follow me, before she decides to blow the whole area up!"

XXX

'Hm… what was that? I could've sworn that there was a lot of demonic energy released all at once. Could it be Hild?...'

Looking towards the city, Tyr had to admit that there was a malevolent scent in the air, which only meant one thing; trouble. Despite his ex's presence, the celestial leader was almost certain that the Daimakaicho wasn't behind what felt like an explosion, although from this distance it was kind of hard to be certain. Yet it was still noticeable enough even for the two other gods to come out of the house in order to take a better look.

"My lord? What was that?" asked Vali as he glanced down at the possessed cat whose eyes remained fixed in the distance.

"Trouble, and apparently it's heading our way," said Tyr as he spotted Urd closing in on them, but this time there was something off with her. "I fear that we're going to have our hands full, so prepare for the worst."

Nodding, the war god cadet summoned his battleaxe and combat uniform while a curious Dagaz joined them in the patio, trying to figure out what was going on. Like the others he had also felt the unmistakable presence of a demon, but it was unlike anything he encountered in the past, given that there was something else mixed in there; something of celestial origins. Sure, Urd was the only one of mixed origins he knew, but it was highly unlikely that she even had this much access to her demonic powers, yet the moment she landed in the middle of the temple grounds, Dagaz realized how wrong he was.

It was indeed Urd, dressed in what appeared to be a mix of her combat uniform and her mother's favorite dress. Striding towards with an air of confidence as her multiple pieces of jewelry that came with her new attire. "Well well… hello there pops. What do you think? Is this befitting of the new Daimakaicho?"

"Not really. It lacks originality and all those decorations come off a bit tacky, given that unlike your mom, you don't need them as limiters; not now at least," said Tyr in a deadpan voice, causing the two other gods to take a step back in fear of the inevitable response.

" _Who asked you?_ "

" _You_ did, actually. Besides, it's a bit too early to call yourself as the Daimakaicho, Urd. Your mom's still in charge of Niflheim and it won't be easy for you to take over."

Letting out a low growl, even in her current state of mind, Urd had to agree that her father did have a point. "Once I'll take over Earth and secure all the contracts for demonkind… mother won't have any other option but to make me the ruler of Niflheim!"

Instead of an actual answer, the possessed cat groomed himself, much to Urd's annoyance as she felt that her father simply ignored her.

"Hey! Don't act like a cat all of sudden!"

"What else am I supposed to do? Take such claims seriously? The only thing you'll even accomplish is to get your mother in the difficult position of having to come all the way to the mortal realm and give you a spanking…"

"A… _spanking?_ " growled the half demoness, causing the two gods to take a step back as her power threatened to run wild, with potentially devastating consequences for anyone standing close to her. "Is this the best you can do? Sit there acting like a stupid furball and wait for my mother to do all the hard work for you?"

"Not really, but most other options are far from ideal, Urd. I cannot really come here on my own for… reasons that I don't have the time to explain right now, and sending the Fighting Wings will be a disaster for you. No matter how strong you think you are, in the end it's impossible to take down everyone on your own and starting a war won't do anyone a favor either," said Tyr with a shake of his head. "You need to give your mother the benefit of the doubt, and realize that her methods may appear to be rather sluggish, but in the long run they're far more effective than any of the alternatives."

For the briefest of moments, Urd seemed to calm down and consider her father's words, but with only half of her mind currently accessible, it was too hard for her to reach any kind of decision. As much as her two sides were at odds with each other, they still needed one another to properly function and with her goddess half being inaccessible, Urd was utterly incapable of making rational decisions. "Quiet! I… I'm tired of everyone telling me that I'm wrong! No matter what I say or do… I'm always the one getting blamed for trying to help. All while others simply watch from afar and criticize, instead trying to offer some assistance!"

"That's… unfortunately true on more than one occasions," admitted Tyr, but was interrupted by his daughter when she sent a bold in his direction, only to have it explode against Vali's shield.

"Then shut up and let me do my thing! I'm tired sick of all those lazy asses criticizing me, or mess around with me for something that's basically their own stupid fault. And let's not even mention who exiled me here, right… _pops?_ " Centuries of frustrations had actually led to this moment, where the half goddess' emotional baggage fueled her anger that threatened to get out of any kind of control. Sending another bolt that nearly overwhelmed Vali, the Norn's eyes were burning in a deep crimson that promised pain; and lots of it. "I'm sick of it! I'll go back and start over as a demoness! And… not just any demoness… but their very leader, too! No one will ever dare to doubt me again!"

"Uh… I can't hold her back for much longer! T-Tyr-sama!... I need permission to remove my seals!" said the struggling war god cadet as he did his best to hold up the shield, although it was essentially a losing battle.

"Negative! It's only going to encourage her to go all out on you, and she's not someone you're prepared to handle on your own. We need to keep her busy until Hild decides to show up," said Tyr with concern starting to show up in his voice, since he knew that unless the Daimakaicho intervened, then he would've no other option but to do this on his own.

"But… But…" Watching the shield deform and flicker, Vali feared the worst, since Dagaz with his third class license was hardly capable of providing any kind of help at the moment. Not that he was faring much better with his second class license either, and for a moment, Vali couldn't help but curse their luck that this happened just when Belldandy and Skuld had to temporary return back to Asgard to deal with a time network maintenance operation.

Then all of a sudden, Urd came to an abrupt halt and stared up to the darkening sky; allowing the cornered gods to retreat to the far end of the temple grounds, before they also gazed skywards to see what was going on. Thick, dark clouds spiraled above the temple as a sinister wind picked up, sending shivers up to the two god's spines, while Tyr's irises dilated at the sight of the infernal cyclone.

"Well, you took your sweet time… Hild."

XXX

"I'm back!"

Pushing the broken bike through the shop's doorway, Keiichi was kind of surprised to find that no one was here to greet him. Despite her seemingly carefree attitude, the bronze skinned goddess was far from irresponsible and even in the event her presence was desperately needed elsewhere, Urd wasn't the kind of person to just leave without even locking the place.

'Strange… What could've happened to make Urd abandon even her lunch?'

Taking a closer look at the one remaining takoyaki, as well as the now empty cup of coffee, Keiichi didn't see anything out of the ordinary that explained why the goddess was gone, not even a simple note. As a matter of fact, this whole setup reminded him all those shows on the TV where people disappeared under mysterious circumstances, although in Urd's case, her very nature allowed her to literally disappear into thin air.

'Hey, maybe she just teleported back to the temple to pick something up? After all… she did ask me out and… she might be preparing for the… date?'

Keiichi's cheeks turned beet red, just from the mere idea of Urd in one of her more daring outfits. Though she rarely wore anything too flashy while her housemates were around, Keiichi couldn't help but wonder if she picked something special for their first date, given that the time they went to that restaurant didn't actually count as a real one.

However his daydreams were brought to an abrupt end when the ground shook, followed by a thundering explosion that made Keiichi get out of the shop to see what the commotion was all about. And it didn't took him long to notice the dark clouds above the mountainside, just where the temple was located, and for the worried mortal it was clear that something bad was going on over there.

'I probably won't be able to do much, but… I just can't sit here! I have to go there!'

Locking the shop's door, Keiichi rushed to his trusty bike and immediately started for the mountain temple; his only hope being that he wasn't going to be too late.

XXX

Standing proud in the middle of the temple grounds, the armored form of Hild inspected the devastation she caused just by manifesting herself into the mortal realm. Clad in the heavy version of her combat uniform that consisted of a powered exoskeleton on top of what was actually her basic combat uniform. Although it was a bit of an overkill, given the circumstances, Hild wanted to make a statement here and Urd's raised eyebrow was a clear indication that she got the message across.

"Sorry for being late, Urd-chan! I hope I didn't miss the party!"

Striding confidently towards her stunned daughter, Hild paused for a moment to glance at the two gods and the possessed cat who were observing the scene from their hiding spot on top of the roof. 'At least they're all in one piece. It would've been really bad if she actually injured one of them before she snapped out of it. Hm?...'

Turning sharply to her daughter, the Daimakaicho's lips curved up in a grin when she noticed the incoming blast that harmlessly slammed against the crimson plates of reinforced demonite that covered her chest; causing the tiny circuit like pathways engraved on them to light up. Expanding from the point of impact towards every inch of the suit, Urd's magic was evenly distributed across the whole surface of the armor before it dispersed to the air in the form or electric arcs. "Nice try, kiddo! Although next time, try to aim at my head, since I'm not wearing a helmet."

" _I don't need your advice!_ " shouted the enraged Urd back at her mother, feeling that she was just making fun of her and unleashed a much more devastating bolt of lightning… only for Hild to slap it upwards, where it harmlessly exploded high above the clouds.

"Lesson number two! If something doesn't work the first time, then try something different! Unless you love trolling people, although that's a luxury you can afford _only_ if you're dominating the battlefield," said Hild with a big smile on her face. "Now come on, Urd-chan! I know you've got it, so, make mama proud!"

"Grr!..." Gritting her teeth, the Norn did as she was told and launched a tiny vial at her mother, which exploded in a cloud of thick violet smoke, moments before impact. "Sweet dreams!"

Still, the Daimakaicho wasn't one to go down that easily and even without a helmet to keep the tranquilizer from reaching her, Hild used a wind spell to form a small yet fierce tornado around her, preventing the sleeping gas from coming too close to her. "Nice try Urd-chan! That's definitely a move in the right direction! Keep it up!"

" _That's it!_ " Tired of this nonsense, Urd clenched her fists as they crackled with energy that was meant to enhance her natural strength. If magic alone couldn't do the trick, then she was fully prepared to combine that with what little she knew about hand to hand combat and before her mother had the chance to retaliate, Urd launched at her to deliver the first blow.

Unfortunately for her, it was already too late as the Daimakaicho had seen through her plan and decided to fight fire with fire, closing in the distance between them with blinding speed. Everything happened so fast that the only thing that could be seen was a red blur in Urd's peripheral vision, since Hild moved to the side in a flanking move, instead of facing her daughter head on. Even worse, she had summoned a long, two handed sword and already drew it back for a horizontal swipe that caught the berserk half demoness totally unprepared to counter. "Well, I'm having fun, but it's time to put an end to this."

With wide eyes, Urd could hardly turn her head in time to see the blade cut the air much faster than she could get out of the way. And due to her current state of mind, not only her reflexes were worse than normal, but she had no idea how to properly defend herself in a stressful situation; especially with her goddess part temporarily inaccessible. It was fairly evident that in her excitement, Urd had grossly underestimated her mother who was clearly better prepared to handle a young upstart who challenged her authority. And while a certain part of her was in a way proud for her, it was that equally clear that Hild wasn't going to hold back. This was definitely going to hurt.

" _Oh, shi-..._ "

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

I would also like to thank ObeliskX for the initial suggestion for a reverse harem setting that led to this story.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

In this story, the reason behind Mara's imprisonment was more or less her attempt to separate Urd's two sides. Considering that this isn't heavily based on the AMG canon, it's easier to assume that Mara had attempted that in the past and was sealed for a while because of it. Additionally I believe that it justifies her involvement with Urd in this particular scenario as an attempt to redeem herself for the whole incident. After all, Urd isn't on the mortal realm due to any contract and trying to send her back is no longer a viable explanation for her actions.

I know that Mara had almost no interaction with Urd in this chapter (technically speaking she did, but it doesn't really count), however it was a bit too early for her to talk to Urd directly. That's more or less reserved for the next chapter.

Speaking of which, I believe it's about time I deal with Urd's long term decisions and slowly wrap up the loose ends, in order to reach to a satisfying conclusion for this story. Given that it was originally intended as a relatively shorter story, I won't keep going forever with it, to avoid ruining the original premise by just adding chapters. Still, I don't want to simply throw an ending just to wrap this up and get it over with. Short story or not, I want the readers to feel happy with the way things had come to an end, instead of a hasty conclusion.

For that reason, I won't finish it on the next chapter, but add an additional epilogue chapter to cover most of the important developments in Urd and Keiichi's life. It might even take me a bit longer to write that particular chapter, although I feel it's necessary to do it right. The last thing I want is to end up one of my stories with a hastily written end, which would only make people wonder why did they spent their time reading this.

Now, on a personal note, I'll be on vacations at some point between this and the next chapter, so there's going to be a longer delay than normal. I'll try to be around and not disappear from the web from the duration of my vacations, but I doubt that I'll make a lot of progress during that time.


	12. Chapter 12

I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

* * *

" _OW!..._ "

While mostly unharmed, save for a particularly nasty bruise across her rump, the same couldn't be said about Urd's wounded pride. At the very last moment, Hild flicked her sword so that she hit her with the flat part of the blade, and while the resulting impact shattered the weapon into tiny pieces, it proved to be more than enough to launch her unruly daughter across the temple grounds and head first through the perimeter wall.

"Aw… I broke my poor sword. Oh, well… I guess I need to go shopping after we're done with this," said the giddy Daimakaicho as she cast the now useless remains of her weapon aside. Although a bit over dramatic, the taunting tone of Hild's voice made it absolutely clear that she wasn't even trying and this entire thing was akin to a game for her; which did nothing to make the pained Norn feel any better.

" _Your poor sword, my ass!_ " shouted Urd as she picked herself up from the ground and walked through the hole she made in the perimeter wall. Worse, even the mere mention of her behind was more than enough to remind her of the burning sensation where the blade struck her, causing her to wince in pain. "And here I was thinking that you'd take me seriously for once, but you're just playing silly games!"

"I'm afraid you don't truly understand the consequences of being taken seriously, Urd. If you really want my position, you also need to accept the consequences of your actions. This isn't a family business I'm running after all, and no one's going to respect you just because you're my daughter," said Hild as she pointed at her aspiring successor. "You need to _earn_ that respect and the first step is by becoming a demoness, and then _work_ your way up in our chain of command. Just because you suddenly decided that you want to become the Daimakaicho doesn't mean that the others will automatically accept you as their leader, and throwing a temper tantrum about it won't help either. Although, to be perfectly fair, you're not thinking straight right now. With your goddess part currently inaccessible, the rest of you is left in a confused and angry state. After all, the main issue here isn't whether you'll become the leader of Niflheim or not, but something a lot more personal, right? You're angry at _me_ , not the Daimakaicho who's just trying to defend her position."

"Why? Even though you're this powerful, then why didn't you…" said Urd, before she came to a stop as her confused mind struggled to put her thoughts into the right words; and failed miserably.

Yet Hild already knew what her daughter really wanted to say and while it wasn't the best of times to have such a conversation given the current circumstances, it was also true that Urd would've never brought the subject up on her own. "Why didn't I defy the gods and tell them to shove that Gate up theirs?"

"Yes… Why did you even agree to take on such a ridiculous test?"

"Because of your father?" Giving Tyr a sideways glance, Hild grinned as the possessed cat's fur stood up, but then went on before her daughter decided to vent her frustrations on him. "Please stop looking at Tyr like that, Urd-chan. Just like me, he also has his own responsibilities and can't afford ignoring the rules whenever they're inconvenient for him. After all, that's one of the most basic distinctions between a true leader and a mere tyrant."

"She's right, Urd," said Tyr as he approached his daughter. "Anyone who ignores that simple rule and thinks that power alone is more than enough to let them do as they please… typically doesn't remain in their office for too long; or even alive for that matter."

Although she knew that they was probably right, Urd refused to accept that the two most powerful immortals had no other choice but to knowingly walk into a trap; at least not without considering some other options. Especially one particular that had been bothering her for quite a while. "The Judgement Gate is supposed to spare couples from some sort of impending tragedy, right? Yet the stupid thing is _causing_ more tragedies in the process, so, why didn't either of you challenge its effectiveness to get rid of it?"

"Even then, most would've taken it as an excuse," said Hild with a sigh. "Look… the biggest priority back then was to establish a peace treaty, and as such, we've both pushed everyone to their limit with the idea of the Doublet System. If we kept making demands, a coup would've been imminent and to allow the bloodshed to end, some sacrifices had to be made."

"Including me?" asked Urd, but soon came to regret her words when she noticed the somewhat shocked expression on her mother's face.

"I've done many things in the past, but… that's _not_ one of them," replied Hild while doing her best to keep her voice as calm as possible, but the same couldn't be said about her daughter who reached a critical point.

" _Oh, really? You left me and never looked back!_ " shouted Urd as her body shook in anger, and to a certain degree she expected an equally heated retort from Hild.

Yet the Daimakaicho remained eerily silent for a long while, until she finally managed to come up with a reply. "If you really feel like that… then what are you going to do about it?"

" _This!_ "

Gathering a ball of lightning in her palm, Urd unleashed it on Hild at full power, and this time she did aim for her head.

XXX

Keiichi was now certain that something wrong was indeed going on here. When nothing happened for several minutes, he wondered if that initial explosion was merely Urd's response to one of Dagaz's comments in the event she asked for his opinion about one of her dresses.

The latest explosion, though ruled that possibility out and as the temple zoomed by over the corner, Keiichi wasted no time to park his bike in front of the main gate and then rushed to climb the stone stairs. Yet before he got a chance to enter the temple grounds, a hand grabbed him by the back of his jacket and pulled him aside, much to his protests.

"Hey, let go of me!" said the young mechanic, as he tried to look over his shoulder and found that the one holding him was none other than the Daimakaicho's childlike avatar. "Huh? Hild? What's going on here?"

"Shh! We need to come up with a plan before you jump in there," said Hild, as a blonde demoness approached them. "Oh, by the way, this is Mara. She's an old friend of Urd's."

"Uh… nice to meet you," said the somewhat confused mortal, while the blonde eyed him suspiciously.

"Likewise." In reality, she knew a lot more about him that he would've ever expected, given that the demoness had little more to do over the last couple of days, other than spy on Urd and her three housemates. Still, she had no idea how a mortal could possibly help them resolve a situation that appeared to be under control just moments ago, only for matters to go out of hand once again. "Hild-sama… what are we supposed to do?"

"First of all, let's allow Urd-chan to blow off some steam, as she obviously needed to do that at some point of time," said the childlike avatar with a sigh. "Then we need to…"

"Wait! What's going on here?" asked the confused Keiichi who still had no idea what the problem was in the first place.

"Right!... I never told you, didn't I? Well… listen well, Keiichi-kun," said Hild as she began to offer him the necessary explanations, all while the battle in the temple grounds intensified.

XXX

A series of lightning bolts pelted the temple grounds as the now furious half demoness went on the offensive, all while her mother did her best to hold her ground. Most demonesses in Hild's place would've found the experience to be absolutely terrifying, but for the Daimakaicho it was quite the opposite.

Hild _wanted_ her daughter to vent off those millennia old feelings she had done her best to repress, and as such, the Daimakaicho thought that before Urd could move on with her life, she _needed_ to deal with that anger. And although the eldest of the Norns wasn't the vindictive type, it was also true that the whole situation with her mother left Urd with a bitter taste in her mouth, especially during her early childhood when the young hybrid suddenly found herself in her father's care.

The initial surprise and disbelief of being left in Asgard for good, quickly turned into worry, when she found herself in what was essentially an alien world to her, and only the distraction of having a little sister clinging from her, made Urd feel a bit better about her predicament. Yet despite Belldandy's best efforts, Urd couldn't shake the feeling that she had somehow let her mother down and as a result, Hild decided to simply get rid of her failure of a daughter. But considering how young she was, even Urd knew that no matter how high Hild's standards may had been, there was no way for her to display any kind of powers at such an early stage; meaning that the primary problem must've been her very nature as a hybrid.

Part of her wanted to become a perfect goddess just to defy mother and better blend into her new surroundings, especially as Belldandy's big sister, and yet another part wished to hold onto her demonic side as it was what made her truly unique. That struggle was partially resolved with a solution that in reality was nothing more than a compromise; Urd never turned into a full goddess, but at the same time she shunned her demonic side. To the point where the half goddess ended up sealing her angel because she clearly revealed her true nature to the whole world.

Still, Urd never really managed to hate her mother, although she hadn't exactly forgiven her either. Instead, she trapped herself in a state where she was merely acknowledging the demoness as her mother, but was reluctant to show neither affection nor disdain towards her and even used to call Hild by name, instead of a title to admit their connection.

"Well? Is that all you've got?" gloated Hild as she managed to deflect Urd's latest attack, despite the fact that it took her a lot more effort to do so, compared to how she made it appear.

"You want more?" said the grinning Norn while summoning more of her demonic powers, to the point where she was once again almost drunk by the euphoric feeling of being able to control that nearly boundless energy. " _I've got more!_ "

Bracing for impact, Hild momentarily glanced over at the direction of her avatar who was currently busy sneaking around the temple to reach Tyr and the two gods. As much as she wanted to let Urd vent, it was quite dangerous to let her daughter go too far and accidentally cause some real damage. Regardless of her current state of mind, no one would easily overlook the destruction of a whole city, let alone a good chunk of this planet, if she failed to contain one of her daughter's more powerful attacks. That would definitely not only cause a huge mess and potentially result in Urd's license to be permanently revoked, but also it could significantly harm their relationship, since she was coaxing Urd to keep going regardless of her state of mind.

So, at this point, it was for the best if her daughter stopped, but to avoid making it look as if she had been manipulated her, Hild wanted for the others to do their part.

'Let's see what you've got Keiichi-kun…'

XXX

" _What?! B-But… Hild-sama!... We're gonna die if we do that!_ "

Staring at her boss in shock, Mara was struggling to reason with the Daimakaicho's childlike avatar, but to no avail.

"Are you refusing to accept your responsibilities?" asked Hild while throwing a thumb in Urd's direction. "Do I really need to remind you, who caused this whole mess in the first place?"

"Uh… well…" Scratching her head nervously, Mara tried to turn to the mortal next to her, in hopes that he could actually talk some sense to her. However, not only did he make no attempts to do so, but judging by Keiichi's determined expression, the mortal appeared to _agree_ with Hild's plan.

"I think it's worth a shot," said Keiichi, much to Mara's utter horror.

"What are you even talking about?" asked the stunned demoness. "Do you have any idea how dangerous Urd currently is? She's gonna flatten us like flies, if we try to stop her on our own!"

"Well… compared to me, Urd's far too powerful under _any_ circumstances. And I cannot deny that I'm kind of scared of facing her, especially right now," said Keiichi with a nervous look as he glanced at the rampaging Norn, before he turned back to Mara. "But… I'm not going to just sit here and wait someone else to do the dirty job for me. Although it's likely this plan won't work, unless I give it a try, I won't be able to say that I did my best."

"You're going to have us both killed…" muttered the blond demoness, breathing out a curse as she nervously looked in Urd's direction.

"Us?"

"Do you seriously think I'll let you hog all the glory just for yourself?" said Mara with a raised eyebrow, taking a step towards Keiichi. "If a mere human is going to try and talk some sense to Urd, then I'll definitely not going to cower behind a rock or something."

"Likewise."

Blinking, both Keiichi and Mara turned to see Vali approaching them, with Dagaz close behind him. And despite the latter's somewhat worried expression, the blonde god also refused to back away, joining the others in their effort to make Urd snap out of it. "Yes, we might as well do our best too!"

"Okay… that's enough with that goody-goody stuff! Ugh… you're making my stomach hurt," said Mara with a groan, before she pointed at Urd. "Now, do you guys have an idea on how to stop her, or you'll just tag along with us?"

"That depends on your plan," said Vali with Dagaz nodding in agreement. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well…"

XXX

It was said that absolute power corrupts absolutely, yet for Urd the sensation of having an almost unlimited source of energy at her disposal was the most liberating thing in the word. No more silly restrictions that celestial law demanded, and no more nagging from her goddess side either. Just pure, raw power gushing out from the depths of her being, made her feel almost unstoppable. And unlike before where she was in an almost drunken state, the half demoness was finally getting the hang of it.

Her moves became more graceful, her reflexes more acute and her control over magic, better than ever before. For most of her life Urd was known for the rather clumsy use of her abilities, but at the time being, she was almost fighting her mother on equal terms; a feat that actually brought a smile on the Daimakaicho's face.

Despite being her opponent, Hild was more than happy to know that her daughter was indeed capable of being her equal if she had the time to develop her skills to perfection. Urd was figuratively speaking a rough diamond that required a lot of work to shine, but the fact that she did have such a great potential was more than enough for her.

"What's wrong? Not gloating anymore, are we?" Grinning as she caught her mother's jab, Urd proceeded to launch her over her head, yet it was far too early to celebrate, and the half demoness was acutely aware of it. At this rate she was burning through her energy reserves at a much faster rate than her mother and their standstill was about to come to end a lot sooner than she was initially anticipating.

Worse, the more experienced demoness was far less prone to make any mistakes, and even exploited Urd's own attacks to her benefit. As her daughter inadvertently allowed her to put some distance between them, Hild now had the perfect opportunity to let the others creep closer to Urd and try to subdue her; albeit in a non aggressive manner.

Indeed, Keiichi was slowly approaching Urd from behind, along with Vali who was his backup in case things went horribly wrong, while Mara and Dagaz were trying to flank her. They needed to cause some sort of distraction in order to let Keiichi within range and put the cursed headphones on Urd. And according to Hild that would've not only prove to be more than enough to pacify the rampaging Norn, but even cause her to fall asleep right on the spot. Sure, the dark haired mechanic was somewhat dubious how such a seemingly mundane object could even affect Urd, but the Daimakaicho's avatar assured him that it was going to work and with him being a mortal, it was much easier to get close to her without being detected; a task that Keiichi eagerly accepted in order to help the goddess he loved.

Of course, that was before he got close enough to feel the shockwaves of her lightning bolts, and on more than one occasions, he simply flinched. It was an absolutely terrifying situation for Keiichi to be in, yet despite that, he had to press on. Just tossing the headphones to Vali and tell him to do the job was simply unacceptable, even if the nervous mortal felt his legs shake as he took one wobbly step after the other. Of course, Keiichi knew that deep down, Urd would've never hurt him or anyone else for that matter, but that didn't stop his survival instincts from begging him to get out of there. It was the same feeling of dread one would experience under a life threatening situation, and while he had a fair share of those while racing a bike, it was still hard to control his breathing as he approached closer to Urd.

That's when the decoy team decided to make their presence known by throwing what appeared to be a fairly simple smoke bomb at the Norn, who couldn't help but wonder just what was going on here; especially when she saw who was standing next to Dagaz. " _Mara?_ What are _you_ doing here?"

"I've heard there was a party and decided to join in!" said Mara with a grin, while trying not to look in Keiichi's direction and inadvertently alert Urd of his presence.

"Really? Is that the best you can come up with?" asked the sarcastic half demoness, as she turned her full attention to her long time friend and occasional pain in the neck; for the lack of a better word. "Not to mention that you've been released, too… Who in their right mind decided to set you loose?"

"Who knows? That's not the important part, anyway…" said Mara in an effort to keep her attention focused on her, instead of causing Urd to look in Hild's direction and then spot Keiichi who was slowly approaching her; one painfully slow step at a time.

"Oh? And what _is_ the important part, then?" asked Urd while narrowing her eyes at the blonde demoness. "You dare show up after that stunt you've pulled back then, and empty handed too! Not even a bottle of sake? _The nerve!_ "

"Uh… _hold on!_ Are you telling me that you're okay with just a _bottle of sake?_ " asked the dumbfounded Mara. She had expected a much harsher retort from her friend, especially given that she was currently dealing with Urd's demonic side. Yet the seemingly… forgiving nature of her, caught Mare by surprise, although she was uncertain whether it was a pleasant one or not. After all the trouble she'd gotten into so that she gathered all those damn ingredients, the last thing Mara needed to hear was she could've gotten away with something that was readily available on a mere liquor store.

"Honestly? With you being so inept at coming up with anything that requires any amount of serious planning, I suppose that a bottle of sake is more that enough," said Urd, much to Mara's chagrin. "After all… who knows what kind of elaborate and over the top plan you could've prepared, only to botch something up and in the process create one huge mess or another. Hm… wait a second… You couldn't be the one behind… my current situation… _right?_ "

As Urd began to figure out what was going on here, everyone except for Keiichi, glared at the blonde demoness that made a futile effort to look innocent and in the process, failed miserably. Still, the distraction proved to be more than good enough for the dark haired mortal to get right behind the unsuspecting Urd and before she had the chance to spot him, the mortal quickly put the headphones on her and hoped for the best.

" _What?!_ "

Loud Enka assaulted the half demoness' senses, as the music that Urd was most vulnerable to, threatened to send her to the land of dreams. It wasn't a well known fact, but due to her demonic ancestry, Urd was susceptible to some of the weaknesses the infernals possessed; although the nature of those shortcomings greatly varied between individuals. Some were affected by certain physical objects, like lucky charms whereas others could be influenced by other things that even included music, and in Urd's case that was Japanese Enka.

In most cases, those who identified their weakness did their best to find ways to become immune to it, or at the very least minimize the effect, but that was often easier said than done. Once again, the results of such efforts greatly varied between individuals and while some truly managed to overcome such hurdles, others could only lessen the impact those weak spots had in their lives. Still, for someone like Urd who had little idea on how to use her demonic powers, it should've been only a matter of seconds until she could no longer remain awake; or so everyone thought.

"That's… _so…_ cheap…" Struggling to remove the headphones that appeared to be almost glued in place, thanks to the curse that was applied to them, Urd was determined not to be taken down by such a dirty trick. Worse, the one behind this particular display of cowardice was none other than Keiichi, who in reality was the last person she would've expected to pull such an underhanded trick. "And… _you_ are siding with them too?!"

Taking a few steps back from the angry half demoness, Keiichi briefly glanced over at Hild and noticed her rather troubled expression, which was more than enough to confirm his suspicions. Things weren't exactly going according to plan, as Urd was should've been asleep by now, yet she was not only awake but also getting more and more agitated by each passing moment.

" _I've asked you something!_ "

"I… I'm sorry, but… I just couldn't let you run amok like that," said Keiichi with a some effort, as the Norn's glowing eyes slowly eroded his resolve. Despite his determination to help Urd the best he could, Keiichi was now facing the prospect of becoming the target of one of her lightning bolts and by the looks of it, this time she wasn't likely going to hold back.

"Really, now? You think I was just throwing a temper tantrum because of… whatever Mara apparently gave me?" asked Urd behind clenched teeth. "What about the very reason I got here to begin with? An exile for messing around a stupid server? Do you know how many celestials do a lot worse and yet… get away with it? Oh… and by the way… I also lost my memory because of it, and nobody even cared! Even that idiot I have to call a father needed more than a _month_ to realize that there was something wrong with his own daughter! Some family!…"

"I have no idea what it really feels like to not have any recollection of who I am, but, I do know that this isn't exactly the case either," said Keiichi as he attempted to calm her down in hopes that she might listen to reason. "Your father did mention that restoring your memories too abruptly could have some unwanted side effects, and your sisters certainly adore you. Even more, you did seem to enjoy it here to a degree, despite anything else that was going on with our lives, Urd. I just… don't believe that this is how you really feel about everything, so, if you calm down…"

" _I don't want to calm down! A-And don't mention my… my sisters!_ " shouted the Norn of the past, making the others a bit nervous as they worried that an attack was imminent. "Even… even if I calm down… nothing's going to change. We'll go back to our little routine, but… for how long? My memories are mostly back, so it's only a matter of weeks or even days before I have no further reason to be here, anyway. You may think that a goddess can do whatever she wishes, but I honestly have little control over my life, Keiichi. Not when it really matters..."

"Um… is this what the problem was all about?" asked the mechanic as he felt that they started to get somewhere with this conversation, and much to the other's surprise, reached to remove the headphones from Urd. After all, those had proven to be nothing more than an annoyance for her, and besides, he felt that it was the right thing to do so that they could actually talk without any distractions.

"You know… you're right about my family. Despite our jobs, they've been there for me when I needed them the most; especially my sisters. Well… even my father, although he really sucks at it," said Urd with a sigh, giving the possessed cat a sideways glance before she turned back to Keiichi. "Still, I suppose that no matter what the circumstances, as long as I'm a goddess it's impossible to do what I really want with my life. Too many rules and regulations and… you get the picture. So, I thought that it was a good opportunity to take my mother's job and run the show as I wanted. Nobody tells the Daimakaicho what she's supposed to do; or… that's what I like to think anyways. After all, demons have their own rules and not even their leader is spared from following them."

"But… if you know that, then why?..."

"Why did I do it?" finished Urd for the mortal. "It's hard to tell what's going on in my head at times, but, regardless of what my initial intentions may had been… I ended up acting like an idiot instead."

"I believe you're a bit too harsh on yourself, Urd-chan," said Hild, interrupting Urd and drawing her and the mortal's attention to herself. "If nothing else, it's fairly obvious that an _idiot_ would've never thought all that, let alone admit it to anyone. If we want to be more technical, the brief isolation of one of your sides threw your mind out of synch and resulted in this incident. As it looks like, the effect of the potion is now gone, as you've forced your two sides to resync and as a result, you've regained your senses. But regardless, it was a nice opportunity for you to vent and say things that you kept to yourself for all this time."

"Yeah… as if blowing a gasket would do anything good to anyone," said Urd in a dejected tone, but before she could look the other way, she felt her mother's unarmed hand on her shoulder. Hild had already dismissed her armor and was standing next to her daughter, dressed in her regular gown.

"Like I said, you're a bit too harsh on yourself. Besides, I never really answered your question now, did I?"

"Hm… which one?" asked Urd, although in reality she had a very good idea what her mother was talking about.

"Why I sent you to Asgard," said Hild, even though she noticed the evasive look in her daughter's eyes. "And to be honest with you, all you need to do is look at yourself right now."

"Huh? Why?"

Letting out a sigh, Hild traced a finger across her daughter's battle uniform that resembled what she was wearing herself, and then much to Urd's confusion she smiled. " _This_. Ever since you were a little goofball, you really loved to emulate me and your current attire or even your ambition to take my position reflects that. And you know, Urd?... For the most part I loved it; having my little girl running around me, pretending to be the Daimakaicho. But… in a way, I also feared that if I kept you with me, you'd inevitably try following my footsteps as you grew up. Something that would've proven to be an impossible goal, since you've got something that I simply don't possess, Urd."

"You mean… my dual nature?" asked the Norn of the past with some hesitation.

"Yes, that's correct, Urd. No matter how similar we may look and act at times, that fundamental difference would've impeded your effort to become like me and I feared that the solution to such a problem would've eventually ruined your uniqueness," admitted Hild, much to her daughter's surprise. "You must've already experienced that as a goddess too; your desire for a pair of pure, white wings… And for you to take my place as the Daimakaicho, a pair of dark wings were needed."

"But… what if I ended up becoming a goddess as a whole? If I cast away my demonic legacy?"

"Well, to be absolutely frank with you, I kind of depended on your sisters to discourage you from such an option," said Hild with a ghost of a smile as she looked skywards for a moment. "If you remember, back when Mara attempted to separate your sides, your goddess half had some issues to unite with your demonic side, yet all it took was for them to tell you that they wanted their _real_ sister back. After all, we can't let poor Bell-chan get all weepy now, can we?"

There was a long pause as the half goddess stared at her mother in wonder, not realizing that her emblems had changed back to the familiar blue triangles. "That's… the sneakiest… most underhanded thing I've ever heard."

"Thank you dear! You know I'm trying my best to impress you!" said Hild with a wink, enjoying her daughter's stunned expression. "Although, there is one more thing about it."

"And… that is?"

"The mere fact that you grew up having two adorable little sisters idolizing you. That was one thing I wouldn't be able to provide you; at least not in the manner I would've preferred," said Hild as she averted her gaze.

"I see." It was a fairly awkward moment for Urd, who was unsure what to think of her mother's explanation, especially after saying all those things earlier on. Still, she knew that leaving it like that was more or less what she's been doing for her entire life, and for once she was utterly sick of it. "Um… I… I'm sorry about all that. You know, what I said before. I didn't mean..."

"You probably did, Urd-chan, but I'm not innocent either," said Hild with a shake of her head. "I'm at least as stubborn as you are and in order to accomplish what I wanted for you, I kept a distance so that you wouldn't grow homesick. Of course, to someone as young as you were back then, it's easy to think that I had given up on you."

"I was upset for sure, but at the same time, I haven't completely forgotten about my early childhood. I'm not the goddess of the past for no reason, after all. So, I knew for a fact that you'd never simply toss me away just like that," said Urd with tiny smile. "Still, I was too proud of a goddess to openly admit that to anyone. I think you've already said it… we're both stubborn; maybe a bit too much for our own good."

"Even if you say that, it's still one of our good points I guess. We never give up, right, Urd-chan? Like for example… you did finally decide to pick Keiichi-kun!" said Hild with a wink as she stepped towards Keiichi who was still standing next to them, even if he remained silent to avoid ruining the moment between mother and daughter. "And speaking of that… Hello there, sweetheart! I know that we already know each other, but since I'll become your mother in law, let's get along nicely, okay?"

"Hey! What do you think you're trying to pull on me?" asked the half goddess, as her mother leaned against her aspiring boyfriend, while the latter could only mutter a few incoherent sounds, given how close the Daimakaicho's chest was to his face. "Get your paws off of him!"

"Aw… I just wanted to be nice to him, Urd-chan…" pouted the demoness in an almost melodramatic manner.

"Not while you're about to give him the marshmallow hell! _Especially_ before _I_ get to do that!" Pulling hard on poor Keiichi before Hild could get hold of him, Urd wrapped her arms around him from behind, but… that wasn't nearly enough to deter her troublesome mother from doing the exact same thing.

Instead, Hild pressed harder against the furiously blushing Keiichi, pinning him against her daughter's chest. "Well… in a manner of speaking we're _both_ doing that, Urd-chan. And… judging by how happy he looks, I suppose that we're making a great team!"

" _A great team?!_ He's _my_ boyfriend, so hands off!" barked Urd, tugging hard on the now suffocating mechanic, as Keiichi's face was essentially trapped into her mother's cleavage."And let him breathe, dammit! He's turning blue!"

"At least he's going to die a happy man," said Dagaz in a mix of awe and deep respect. "I definitely wouldn't mind swapping places with him right now… Having two pairs of..."

" _Dagaz!_ " said Vali, interrupting the blonde god before he got any further.

"Yeah, yeah… I know… I shouldn't say things like that…" Letting a frustrated sigh, the third class god, pointed at the lucky mortal who was still sandwiched between the two platinum haired beauties. "But, come on! Even _you'd_ love to get smothered by such amazing twins!"

"They're a mother and daughter, not sisters," said Vali with a shake of his head, although Dagaz had other ideas.

"No, silly! That's sometimes used to refer to a woman's…" started Dagaz, until a startled cry got his and the others' attention.

Hild had almost unexpectedly released Keiichi, which of course caused the distracted Urd to keep pulling and end up falling on her backside with her boyfriend on top of her. "Oopsie!"

" _Oof! Mom, what was that for?_ And stop grinning like an idiot! One moment you're trying to have a serious conversation and the next… you're smothering _my_ boyfriend!" shouted Urd, pointing an accusatory finger at the grinning Hild, until she realized a tiny detail; they had an audience. And that's when the Norn also realized that she had called Keiichi her boyfriend, in front of everyone.

"So… he _is_ your boyfriend," said Hild with a content grin as she crossed her arms. "Because when I called myself his future mother in law, you made no comments about it, Urd-chan."

"Wait! You did all that on purpose? Just to make me admit it?" asked the stunned Urd, who could hardly believe what was really going on here. "But… _why?_ "

"Because… given your current situation, you'd both end up trying to hide it from the others, just so that nobody would end up unhappy. Which would put everything to a hold for who knows how many years until you'd finally decide to make a move and while that could work with some goddesses… you're not like that Urd-chan."

The half goddess in question made a few attempts to come up with a retort, but soon realized that her mother had a point there. She may had a reputation for being spontaneous and downright reckless at times for sure, yet that didn't mean she had no compassion for others and cared only for her own fun. Which was one of her biggest problems at the time being; figuring out what to do with her predicament, or rather… how to break the news to the others. Still, trying to have a relationship while maintaining the illusion that nothing had changed between her and Keiichi was most likely too much of a task even for a habitual liar like her. After all, most of her typical lies were fairly harmless, and even then she wasn't particularly skilled to fool others for any extended period of time.

Urd knew that they'd probably end up putting some distance between them, or at the very least try not to act like a couple in front of others and keep their dates infrequent enough to avoid suspicion. Yet it would've probably be in vain, as she's a generally impatient goddess and having to deal with such a slow relationship was something that Urd just didn't didn't have the patience to handle, no matter how much she wanted it.

At least now that the proverbial cat was out of the bag and no one overreacted to the news, Urd could finally feel at ease. Although… the particular method her mother decided to use to tackle this problem left Urd with some reservations about her sincerity and as such, she made a mental note to keep an eye out any suspicious moves while Hild was around her boyfriend. 'And… speaking of the devil… where did she go all of a sudden? She was right in front of me a moment ago. Was I really so distracted that she simply walked away?'

Looking around her, Urd soon found her mother standing over to where Dagaz and Vali were, and that's when her eyes went wide. " _What are you doing?!"_

" _Mmph?_ " Seeing that her daughter was too lost in her own thoughts to notice what was going on around her, Hild decided to use this opportunity to offer her personal version of a consolation prize to the two gods who came close but ultimately failed to date Urd. And given his more _outgoing_ nature, Hild picked Dagaz as the first of them to receive that little reward. Which… basically turned out to be the most intense kiss of the poor god's life; although at this point, one might argue whether it was even accurate to be considered as unfortunate or not.

However, the moment she pulled away from the dazzled god, a portal appeared above the temple grounds, getting everyone's attention as a group of goddesses were about to descend upon Earth; most likely in response to this late crisis. First among them was Ansuz, followed by her two daughters and then, another pair of of goddesses emerged from the Gate; one dressed in a white combat uniform that slightly resembled what Vali loved to wear, and another goddess… who barely wore anything at all.

Landing a fair distance from Urd, as they seemed to be hesitant to approach before establishing that she was stable, the goddesses patiently waited for her reaction and as soon as she simply waved at them, all five of them visibly relaxed. Or rather… four of them did, as the blue haired Valkyrie that accompanied them glanced over at Vali's direction, just to make sure her son was intact; and almost freaked out.

" _WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!_ "

Exploiting the distraction caused by the goddesses' arrival, Hild managed to sneak closer and eventually get a hold of Vali, before she gave him a sample of what Keiichi got to experience; a taste of her version of marshmallow hell. "Hm? Oh… I'm just trying to thank the poor boy for taking care of my Urd-chan for all this time. And don't look at him flailing his arms like that, he's perfectly fine! Actually… I think he _really_ likes it! Either that, or he's carrying some pretty big keys in his uniform."

" _That's it! Get your filthy paws off my boy, you… you shameless temptress!_ " shouted Lind as her eyes turned golden, while aiming her trusty battleaxe at the demoness' head; who just dodged it.

"Aw... don't be so negative, Lind-chan! I really like shy boys, and your Vali is so cute, too!" said Hild as she let go of the aforementioned god, all while his mother desperately tried to split the Daimakaicho's head in twine, or at the very least give her a mighty whack. "Who knows… if things go well, I might end up calling you… _mama!_ "

" _OVER MY COLD, DEAD BODY!_ "

Just as one goddess got under control, another one was about to go berserk on Hild, as the furious mother tried to give Hild a piece of her mind and show her just what she thought of her jokes. Which left Ansuz no choice but to rush and put an end on this, before Lind caused more damage than the berserk Urd.

"Wait, Lind! She's just trolling you!"

Pinching the bridge of her nose at the sight of her mother's… antics, Urd had no idea where Hild got the energy to keep up with her silly games, especially after her efforts to take her down. 'I don't believe she's in the mood for fun and games after what just took place… Seriously…'

"Neesan? Are you really alright?"

Feeling Belldandy's hand on her shoulder, Urd turned to find her two sisters standing next to her, although the youngest of them tried to look as if she wasn't worried at all; and failed miserably to convince anyone. "Yes, Bell, I'm much better now."

"I'm really sorry we couldn't get here any sooner," said Belldandy with a sad frown, although her expression soon light up as she took a better look at her sister. "At least I'm happy that you're unharmed, Urd. I was so worried when I've heard that you and Hild were fighting each other! And Skuld was even more distraught than me, so we had to come here and make sure you were alright!"

" _Was not!_ " objected the young goddess as loud as she could, turning her back after crossing her arms in defiance. "I… I just came here… because I wanted to try my latest bomb designs!"

" _Uh huh… If you say so…_ " Grinning from ear to ear, Urd leaned down to give Skuld a kiss on top of her head. "Although, in reality you're a pretty good girl. Always worried about your sisters, even though you're the youngest amongst us."

"S-Shut up!" spat Skuld, desperately trying to hide her blush, and failing to do so, she looked around for a distraction. "B-Besides… don't you have anything better to do? Peorth's tempting your guy with her goods!"

"Wait, what?!" Turning to find the fellow administrator standing next to an embarrassed Keiichi who tried hard to keep his eyes from wandering lower to the scantily clad goddess' body, Urd was about to go berserk once more; albeit this time not due to a potion. "Hey, what do _you_ think you're trying to pull, here?"

"Nothing! I was just trying to say hello, and introduce myself," said Peorth, although the withering glare she was receiving from Urd, was more than enough to make her take a step back.

Feeling that the situation around her was deteriorating at an alarming rate, Belldandy decided to do something before everything escalated beyond anyone's control. And while it was normally uncharacteristic of her to raise her voice, the Norn of the past knew that she had no other choice.

" _ **That's enough!**_ "

The magically amplified voice reverberated across the temple grounds, causing everyone to stop whatever they were doing and turn to face the otherwise gentle goddess of the present. "Please, let's not carry on like this. We all came here to help Urd, and… now that she's fine, how about we throw in a nice celebration? Everyone's invited, too!"

There was a long pause as the assorted immortals, along with Keiichi looked at each other and decided to just go with her idea; even though Lind still wanted to whack Hild's head for her impudence.

"Sure, that works for me, Bell," said Urd, offering her sister a smile, and then glanced over at a nearby tree. "Stop trying to hide, I know you're there, Mara! You're invited as well, so, come out. I'm not mad with or anything."

"Is that really okay, though?" Poking her head around the tree's trunk, the blonde demoness who made an effort to escape while everyone else was busy, offered her friend an uncertain smile. "After all, this was whole mess was my own fault, Urd."

"Tell me something, I don't know," said the half goddess with a sigh. "Still, you were probably trying to help, and it's better if we leave it at that. Now, come on, before I change my mind!"

"Thanks Urd!"

For his part, Keiichi finally started to relax, knowing that the hard part was over. The crisis was averted and everything was about to go back to normal; actually, even better than normal, now that the could not only date Urd, but also do it without having to worry about the others' reaction.

"Kei-chan! Is everything alright?"

"Huh, Megumi?" Turning towards the temple's entrance, Keiichi spot his sister running towards him, with a concerned look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"That's my line! There were explosions and all sort of sounds coming from this place, so, I rushed here to find out what was going on," said Megumi, taking a moment to catch her breath.

"Well… there was a bit of a crisis, but everything's just fine now," said Keiichi reassuringly, before he smiled at his sister. "Oh, and I've got news for you too! I've got a girlfriend!"

"You mean… Urd?" asked Megumi with a smile that turned into a grin when her brother offered her a thumbs up. "About darn time! Good for you, Kei-chan!"

"Thanks, Megumi! Actually, we're going to throw a party of sorts," said Keiichi as he pointed at the others who were heading inside the temple residence. "Why don't you join us, too?

"Lead the way, Kei-chan!"

XXX

 _A month later_

The last couple of days had been pretty hectic for Keiichi, both due to his personal life, as well as his greatest and most risky move as an aspiring businessman: the grand opening of his very own bike shop.

Just a mere week earlier, Chihiro had finished the relocation of Whirlwind and with the reopening event being a great success, Keiichi had to work really hard in order to prepare for his own shop's grand opening. Of course, given that he and Urd had offered their assistance during Whirlwind's relocation, Chihiro along with Hasegawa and infamous duo, Tamiya and Otaki, did everything they could to help with the remodeling of the old shop. Thankfully, given how small and simple the whole structure was, it took them nearly five days to complete the job, leaving them two more in order for the much needed preparations of the opening event; which included the necessary advertising campaign.

Yet despite all the help from his mortal friends, as well as his two former housemates who decided to move into the apartment Belldandy previously occupied, just to give him and Urd some personal space, Keiichi was still pretty nervous about the whole thing. On one hand, thanks to Belldandy's involvement in the advertising campaign as well as Chihiro's connections with the local businesses, Keiichi already knew that they were going to have a pretty decent number of people attending the opening event, but at the same time, this also added a lot of stress onto his shoulders. The initial enthusiasm was slowly turning into a sense of dread, as he and Urd were figuratively speaking about to embark into unknown territory with no guarantees as to what they'd might encounter there.

Interestingly, Urd was absolutely unaffected by the entire situation, despite working as hard as Keiichi to oversee the preparations of _their_ shop. With her boyfriend being the lead mechanic and owner of their business, it was Urd the one in charge of sales and pretty much every other aspect of the shop, at least until they hired an employee to give them a hand. But, that was going to wait for at least a few months, since the couple wanted to make sure that they made enough money to keep their business profitable, before they started to spending even more; especially after the already costly renovations to the shop.

"Keiichi, I think it's about time to start."

Turning to his girlfriend, the dark haired mortal offered her a silent nod, before he inspected the interior of the shop one last time and knowing that this was the best they could do, at least given their tight budget. So, after taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Keiichi headed for the front door and stepped outside where a small crowd was already waiting.

Everyone was there, from Chihiro and Whirlwind's new employees who also happened to be former members of the Motor Club, to Megumi, and even all the immortals he came to meet in the last few months. Lind and her son, Vali were talking to Belldandy in the distance where they kept a watchful eye at the gathered crowd, Peorth and Skuld were having a soda with Dagaz near the shop's entrance, while Hild and Ansuz were standing next to Mara's booth, who was tasked to hand over special discount coupons for those who attended the event. Of course, according to her claims the only reason she was helping them was due to losing a game of Tetris against Urd, but in reality, everyone pretty much knew that this wasn't really the case. As for Tyr who still possessed a cat's body in order to be physically present on site, he chose to keep an eye out for Mara, just in case she got any funny ideas and even handed a few coupons, which… resulted a lot of baffled mortals taking selfies with what appeared to them as an incredibly smart cat. Thankfully, he did manage to refrain from making any comments about all the attention he was getting, although he did occasionally roll his eyes at some of the bystanders' antics.

'Wow… this isn't really half bad at all. There are so many people here…' Swallowing hard as he became even more nervous than before, Keiichi knew that a good first impression was vital for the future of their shop, but at the same time he wasn't too comfortable being the center of all this attention. Aside from those his friends and a few of Whirlwind's regulars he knew, there were a few dozen strangers and the moment he stepped out of the shop, everyone's attention was drawn at him.

"Just act like yourself and everything's going to be fine, Keiichi. Trust me on that…" Placing a hand on his shoulder as she stepped next to him, Urd did her best to sound reassuring, even though she was a bit nervous herself. Most of her plans had the tendency of backfiring in an almost comical manner, yet the Norn of the past wished to support her boyfriend and for that reason, acting in a confident manner was a necessity.

"You think so?" asked the still nervous Keiichi, as he struggled to calm himself down. "I mean… a lot can go wrong, and…"

"Look… we had this conversation almost a week ago, and everything went smoothly!" said Urd with a smile, almost missing her boyfriend's fierce blush that made his face resemble a ripe tomato. "And if you could handle the ultimate rite of passage into adulthood, then opening a shop should be a walk in the park; right, Keiichi?"

Unfortunately for her, the mortal in question was far too busy restarting his brain after being reminded of the undoubtedly enjoyable yet utterly embarrassing experience of spending a night in the same house with Urd; _alone_. It was the same day the two gods moved out of the temple residence and after throwing a party at their new apartment, Keiichi prepared for a good night's sleep… only to find Urd lying on his futon with a few ribbons wrapped around her otherwise nude body; and the rest was history. A very… _very…_ pleasant history; even if she had to chase the poor mortal around the whole house before he gave in and decided to give the whole ' _touchy feely_ ' thing a try.

"Um… Skuld? He's not responding at all..."

"Really? Let me get a closer look at him."

Just a glimpse of that dreadful red mallet was more than enough to make Keiichi snap out of his reverie and raise his arms in front of him, stopping the little goddess before she gave him a ' _tap_ ' with that thing. " _No, I'm fine, I'm fine!_ "

Clearing his throat as Skuld turned and headed back to Peorth and Dagaz, the embarrassed mortal knew that it was time to start with the event. If he waited any more, people would inevitably get bored and just leave, so after he exchanged a look with Urd, Keiichi stepped forward and hoped for the best.

"Thank you all for coming here, today! I never thought that this day would ever come, but thank to the hard work of a lot of people, most of them also present here,' said Keiichi, casting a glance at all his friends mortals and not, before he wrapped an arm around Urd's shoulders, "I'm happy to announce that our shop is finally open for business! Everyone, welcome to _Elegant Retros!_ "

There was a loud round of applause as he and Urd stepped aside to allow everyone to take a look into the shop's interior. The Norn of the past had been adamant to go for an art deco feel for their shop, finding it appropriate with the whole retro theme. Technically speaking, Keiichi had no problems with selling brand new bikes, although his primary goal was to find and restore much older ones, that others would've simply thrown away as scrap metal. Of course, he wasn't planning to sell priceless antics, given how limited that market was, but focused mostly on bikes from the early 60's all the way to late 80's, along with all the period correct parts; some of which were fairly rare to find in a pristine condition these days.

As a matter of fact, a few of his potential customers found it really hard to believe that what they initially thought as unsold bikes from some forgotten warehouse, were actually junkyard finds after a full and meticulous restoration.

And the longer he talked with them, the more Keiichi relaxed, allowing him to share his passion for old school bikes with those who seemed to appreciate some of his interests. Overall, it was very rewarding experience, and though it was a bit early to call it a success, Keiichi began to think that they were on the right track. Some would've disagreed with his decision to go for a shop that primarily targets to such a specific market, but then again, Keiichi knew that selling bikes to those who cared for them as much as he did was the only way he would feel truly happy and proud of his work. And the more passion he put in his job, the better the results were; which was a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Actually he was so happy to talk about bikes, that he almost lost track of time. Only when he glanced outside, did Keiichi notice that it was well past sunset and decided to take a much needed break. After all it was about for the next part of the event to start, and that gave Keiichi an opportunity to rest while the goddesses along with Hild and even his two eccentric senpai gathered around the karaoke machine they've connected to a sound system Skuld quickly put together outside of the shop.

"Here, I guess you need a drink after talking for a few hours."

Reaching to accept the cup of fizzy cola, Keiichi saw Vali take a seat next to him, before both of them turned to watch Belldandy's performance; the first of many as the night progressed. "Thanks… um… you know… for everything."

"You're welcome, but helping with the shop was nothing at all for us, you know. If nothing else, we worked a lot less hard than we could, while the other humans were around to avoid raising any questions," was the blue haired god's reply, only for Keiichi to shake his head.

"No, no… I meant for Urd and all," said Keiichi with some effort. "I know that it's probably far from the best moment to bring this subject up, but… I honestly don't really know if I'll be given another chance."

"Hey, chill out, Keiichi! You may be a mortal, but you're still young!" said Dagaz as he joined the others, bringing a whole bottle of cola with him. "Or is Urd wearing you do so much that you've already started to feel old?"

Spitting his drink out, while Vali simply palmed himself, Keiichi took a few moments to recover enough to give his former housemate a dirty glance. "You've got no idea…"

"Lucky bastard…" muttered Dagaz, before his sour expression turned into a confident grin. " _But!..._ I'm _so_ close getting a hot date of my own! I can feel it!"

"If you mean... Hild, then forget about it," said Vali with a snort, as he pointed at the demoness in question. "She may be a shameless flirt, but she's not going to date _you_ ; or any other god for that matter."

"You're just jealous that you only got a nice hug but no kiss from her!" shot the blonde god back at the otherwise unfazed Vali.

"Oh, she did kiss me, albeit a bit later during that day," said the war god cadet, drinking some cola to hide his faint blush. "Me… my mother… Peorth… even Ansuz-sama. So, welcome to the club."

"Aw… that sucks..." Lowering his head in utter defeat, Dagaz desperately tried to change the subject, if nothing else, to save face and avoid the others' amused glances. "By the way, Keiichi… what were you trying to say before I got here?"

"Huh? Oh, right!" Looking up in surprise, the mortal quickly retraced back to where he was trying to talk to them about Urd, before he realized something pretty important. The way the gods acted around him strongly reminded Keiichi that of a group of friends sharing jokes together, instead of two dejected guys who tried to woo the same goddess and got burned in the process. Yet the best part was that so far, he didn't sense any bitterness or envy directed at him, which was something one might've expected in a situation like this. "I wanted to thank you for everything you guys have done for me, especially in regards to Urd. I know that you also liked her, and yet she ended picking me, but…"

"Aren't you selling yourself a bit short? By the time we showed up, you were already living together with her, so, _we_ should be the ones thanking _you_ for not holding a grudge against us for getting in your way," said Vali, although Keiichi simply shook his head.

"That's not entirely correct, you know. While it's true that she was a bit too friendly towards me back then, I'm not sure what would've happened if we started dating before she regained her memories," admitted Keiichi while nervously scratching the back of his head. "Sure… I think we could've been a couple of sorts for a while, but… after remembering _who_ and _what_ she was, I fear that things between us would change. In a manner of speaking, giving her some time to deal with her amnesia before making any serious choices was probably for everyone's best interest."

The two gods briefly shared a look, as neither of them had actually expected that kind of response. Although to a certain degree, it didn't exactly surprise them either, given that during the few months they've spent living together under the same roof, it became apparent to them that Keiichi wasn't exactly the most typical example of a mortal. Most other humans would've reacted poorly to the idea of having two competitors interacting with their romantic interest, let alone live in the same house as her, yet Keiichi had somehow managed to handle the situation a lot better than anyone else would.

After a few moments of silence and as Peorth was the next goddess in line to sing in the makeshift stage they've set up outside the shop, Vali decided to speak up, given that Dagaz was still thinking about what to say. "Then I suppose that everything's cool, then? Friends?"

Noticing the war god cadet extend his arm towards him, Keiichi gladly reached and shook hands with him. "You bet! Oh, and you too, Dagaz!"

"Of course! You you being such a chick magnet, as long as I stick around you. I'm bound to get a girlfriend… sooner or later," said the blonde god with a wink, causing the other two to laugh at how silly that sounded. However, as soon as he noticed Urd walking towards them, Dagaz nodded in Vali's direction and the two gods silently agreed to leave them alone. Giving Keiichi a pat on the shoulder, Dagaz began to walk away and back to the gathered crowd that enjoyed Peorth's singing performance. "Well, I think it's time we go back to the others. They're probably wondering where we've been; especially _this guy's_ mom."

"Leave my mother out of this!" shot Vali back at his fellow celestial, before he turned to their mortal friend. "Anyway… we'll catch up after the event, Keiichi. I'm sure you'll need someone to help with cleaning up this place."

"Sure thing, guys!" said Keiichi with a smile, as the two gods walked towards the stage, while Urd approached him with a curious look on her face.

"Did something good happened while I was gone?" asked the goddess of the past, before she took a seat next to him.

"Yeah… you can say that for sure," replied Keiichi, his smile never fading from his face as he stared at the half goddess next to him. "You know, Urd… you were absolutely right. Everything went smoothly, and I think that we may have gotten a few potential clients already."

"It's definitely a good start, that's for sure. But, that doesn't mean we're out of the woods yet. We still need to keep the momentum and make sure we get a few happy clients, so that they spread a good word around." said Urd with a grin. "It's kind of funny, but, I almost sound like Chihiro."

"A little bit…" said Keiichi with a chuckle, while the bronze skinned goddess began to laugh at how ironic that sounded. "Although you're far more mischievous than her."

"What can I say… it runs in the family," laughed Urd as she pointedly nodded in Hild's direction. "You know… call me crazy, but I think that I'm starting to understand my mom a bit more now. In the past, I never had the patience for anything that required this much planning and then commit myself to make sure it works in the long run; and I'm dealing with a mere shop, here. I don't even want to know what running a whole realm must be for her. Great… I'm slowly turning into her… Bloody fantastic!..."

"I don't think that it's that simple, Urd. You're still yourself, just a bit more… I dunno… mature?" said Keiichi with some hesitation, fearing that he may have accidentally insulted her. Yet with the lack of any noticeably negative response, the dark haired mortal carried on. "And I'm not the only one who's probably thinking that, either. Both your sisters, Hild and even Tyr must've noticed that by now, and they're all proud of you."

"Maybe…" said Urd offhandedly, although her lips curled up in a content smile as she crossed her arms and glanced at Keiichi. "Speaking of making others proud… you're not half bad either. For a guy that didn't know how to make a compliment without embarrassing himself in the process, you've almost made me blush!"

"What can I say? I've got a good teacher," said Keiichi, offering Urd a wink.

"A teacher, huh? Mm… that gives me a few ideas for tonight…" said Urd as her smile turned into a cat like grin, all while Keiichi's cheeks began to redden by the implications of her statement. However, before she went too far, Urd decided to stop with her teasing and changed the subject to something entirely different. "Keiichi? Can I ask you something?"

"S-Sure…" said the nervous mortal, whose mind was still contemplating just what kind of titillating ideas the half goddess might come up with for later.

"Are you happy with how things turned out?"

"Eh?" That wasn't what he had in mind, and it actually took Keiichi a few moments to realize just what Urd was trying to ask. "You mean… with us, or the shop?"

"Both, actually. I've got a bit of a reputation for messing things and bringing misfortune to people around me, so…" Pausing for a moment to take a deep breath, Urd went to ask the very thing she wanted to know for quite some time now. "Have you regretted meeting me?"

"Not at all!" said Keiichi in a heartbeat, shaking his head for added effect. "It may had been a crazy journey to get to this point, but in a way, it kind of made me feel a lot more… _alive_ than I was before. Probably that's not the best way to express what I want to know, but… it's been a while I was so excited to _do_ something. It's like back when I was still an NIT student and I spent time at the Motor Club, going after my dreams, and to be honest, I've almost given up all that after I graduated. And for the first time since then, I've started to dream again."

"Really? And here you were complaining that I'm keeping you up all night… I guess, you still have enough time to dream." Offering him a smile, Urd leaned in for a kiss that lasted a lot longer than she had initially planned, pulling away only after she felt that Keiichi was running out of oxygen.

"That's not what I meant, Urd!..." said Keiichi, but after staring her for a few moments, he ended up laughing and then looked up at the starlit sky above them, while the first of Skuld's fireworks exploded. The little goddess was adamant to organize something to help attract the audience's attention and a fireworks show was something that came natural to her. "You know… after I've heard that Belldandy is a wish granter and the whole idea of certain mortals getting wishes from either Heavens or Hell, I kind of wondered what I would've asked for if I was in that position."

"Oh? And… what would you go for?" asked the rather curious Urd, who never expected something like that from him. Of course, she knew what his interests were and they were already opening a shop of their own, so that was already a good candidate for a wish, but in the end, Urd had no idea what he would've asked and as such, she had to admit that she was really interested to know what Keiichi really wanted.

"Well… there are lots of things I could've asked for, but most of them are fairly trivial, to be honest with you," said Keiichi, before turning to face her directly before he went on. "In the end, the most important thing I could've wished for is… to have a goddess like you stay with me forever."

" _Eh?!_ "

Looking at the stunned goddess with some concern evident on his face, Keiichi wondered if he had somehow made a blunder and said something he wasn't supposed to, although as far as he could tell, there was nothing particularly wrong with his so called wish. "Is there… something wrong, Urd?"

"Keiichi…. where did you hear that from?" asked the Norn of the past as soon as she managed to regain her composure.

"Huh? I came up with it?" answered the baffled mortal, who still had no idea what was wrong with what he said. "Why?"

"Because… that's the way one asks a goddess' hand in marriage," said Urd with a small grin, as she enjoyed the surprised look on Keiichi's face when he realized what he had actually said to her.

" _No way!_ "

"Yes way!" laughed Urd, poking the tip of his nose to make him snap out of his stupor. "So… don't you want to hear my answer? Or are you taking it back, now that you know what it stands for?"

All that Keiichi could do was offer an affirmative nod, but then decided that it was better to clarify what he meant and mustering all his courage, he made a desperate effort to calm himself down. "I… I'd love to hear… your answer… Urd."

"And you will," said Urd with a wicked smile as she offered her boyfriend a wink. "But only after you get me a ring, mister."

"Wait! A-Are you… Is this a ye-…" started Keiichi, only to have Urd place a finger against his lips, silencing him.

"Not so fast! First buy me the ring, and make sure it's a nice one too! Hm… something with an amethyst stone would looks great on my ring finger." Urd could hardly contain her laughter, when Keiichi shot up from his seat and almost lost his balance, regaining it at the very last moment to spare himself from a painful reunion with the floor.

" _YES!_ "

"Hey, stop stealing my lines and just make sure you get me a good ring, okay?" Getting up from her seat, Urd had to admit that this day had gone way better than she'd ever hoped for, and not just due to the event's success. "Oh, and don't worry if it takes you a while, Keiichi. I'm really stubborn when I need to and I'll definitely wait until you can afford it. But, let's not worry about that right now. Tonight… let's just party with everyone else!"

Nodding vigorously, Keiichi followed his girlfriend to where the others were gathered, but not before he paused to take a look behind him. It was the very place he'd first met her a couple of months ago, and right now… it was their shop. In a sense a chapter in his life was about to close, only for a new and far more exciting one to begin, and Keiichi could hardly await to see what the future had in store for _them_. Sure, given his experiences so far he had no delusions that things could be as exciting and even crazy at times as they already were, but regardless, Keiichi wouldn't change that for all the comforts in the world.

'I can't believe that just a few months ago, I was the unluckiest person I knew. Boy… how things have changed! Yes, I've definitely started dreaming again, but, unlike in the past, right now my dreams are becoming a reality. And I really look forward to see what's in store for me… no… for _us_ in the future.'

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

I would also like to thank ObeliskX for the initial suggestion for a reverse harem setting that led to this story.

This is the 12th and final chapter of this particular story and I'd like to thank everyone who followed this somewhat unusual project of mine to the end. I have always wanted to write a story that focused around Urd and after a suggestion for a reverse harem, I knew it would've been the perfect opportunity to give this a go.

Of course, I didn't want this to turn into a huge project, so I tried to keep things under control and not go overboard with it, which is why I've decided to stop here, instead of going on for at least as many chapters. After all, at this point, the original premise of the story was resolved (Urd's amnesia due to a glitch in the System), and thus it was for the best to reach a conclusion before I ended up prolonging the story without any reason.

That being said, I still have one additional chapter that'll act as the epilogue for this story, where I'll deal with a few things that happened in Keiichi and Urd's life from this point on. After all, there are several things I'd also wish to address before this is truly concluded and although I don't want to keep making chapters after this point, I also don't wish to leave several questions unanswered just like that. If nothing else, the last thing I want is to send off this story with a whimper instead of a bang, so I'll do my best to make a satisfactory conclusion and wrap most of the remaining loose ends in the epilogue.

A bit of a warning though; it may take me twice or even more to write the epilogue, as it might be longer than any of the previous chapters. Also, I have only one chance to get it right, so I'll work based on the result I want, instead of a deadline. Hopefully, that'll leave a satisfactory feeling to everyone who followed this story up to this point.

Once again, I wish to personally thank everyone who followed, reviewed or just read this story and perhaps laughed a bit at the silly antics of Urd and her housemates. After all, that's why I actually write these stories to begin with.


	13. Chapter 13

I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

* * *

It was often said that with every beginning, there always comes an end.

So, when Keiichi flipped the ' _closed'_ sign on his shop's door for the last time, the old mechanic couldn't help but feel a bit weepy as memories from the past five decades he spent here came rushing back to his mind. In all honesty, Keiichi had never expected ' _Elegant Retros_ ' to last for nearly as long as it did, given that the world around him changed so much since the day he first opened his shop; yet he had somehow managed to pull it through.

In all honesty though, that success was only partially thanks to his skills, as Keiichi may had been a brilliant mechanic, but that didn't instantly made him a good businessman too. That's where his wife's support played a vital role, since she stood by his side even during the toughest of times and kept him motivated as well as handled most of the logistics, allowing him to do what he knew best; work on bikes. Without Urd's stubbornness, Keiichi may had actually given up a long time ago when he struggled to gain a reputation for their shop, and perhaps towards the end too; especially given the decline of traditional motorized vehicles. Thankfully her insistence did pay off and after a pretty rough year of barely managing to break even, things finally took a turn for the better.

Still, what really touched Keiichi wasn't just the fact that she kept trying to help him with their shop, but her determination to stay by his side to the bitter end, something that not every woman would've done for her fiance. Because of that, it actually took him more than a whole year to gather enough money to finally buy her the ring he had promised her back when they opened the shop, but in the end, Keiichi never really regretted anything. Their first year together had been the most valuable lesson for both of them, and by overcoming all those hardships together, their relationship just grew stronger instead of coming to an abrupt end. Which was exactly why ever after fifty years of married life, they were still together and very much in love, too.

Of course, they weren't totally alone in their efforts to make a living, as both Urd's sisters as well as their former housemates had given them a much needed hand on numerous occasions, especially during the critical first couple of years. With Belldandy helping as a highly convincing saleswoman and Skuld as a skilled mechanic, Keiichi and his wife could relax a bit whenever the Norns came by for a visit, which actually happened a lot more frequently than either of them had initially expected. Even Vali and Dagaz dropped by on an equally frequent basis, but the first time they did was likely the most memorable one of them all.

It was roughly a week after the Elegant Retro's opening event when the two gods decided to drop by for a visit, along with an eerily familiar looking trike that Keiichi quickly recognized as the one the Motor Club used to own. Given that it was an aging vehicle, the current members of the Club accepted the god's generous donation of a brand new minivan, as long as they got the old Mazda T-2000 in exchange. Which of course sounded like a pretty bad deal from the gods' perspective, but the whole point was that eventual recipient of that trike would've appreciated it a lot more than any other type of brand new vehicle. Which turned out to be a rather correct assumption, when the stunned Keiichi couldn't help but grin like an idiot for several days after he got his first business van; even if the gods involved in this gesture still argued to this date whether it was a van or a trike.

However, when it came to buying Urd's engagement ring, it was up to Keiichi not only to find a way to save up enough money in order to afford it, but also do it in secret. Although Urd was perfectly aware of his intentions to ask her hand in marriage, Keiichi still wished to maintain the element of surprise. After all, his… initial and partially accidental proposal was far from intentional, which motivated him to try a lot harder to get it right the second time; when he was going to do it for real. The major problem however was that with Urd being in charge of the shop's finances, it actually required a lot of creative methods to save whatever cash he could in order to raise the necessary funds for the ring, all while he kept his fiancee in the dark. Which... sounded a lot easier in theory than in actually was in practice.

'Perhaps asking for mother's… I mean… Hild's help was a bad idea. Then again what was I supposed to do? Ask Belldandy to help me? She wouldn't be able tell a lie to cover up for me and besides… Urd might'd gotten the wrong idea. Then again, it became _far_ worse with Hild… Telling me that she wanted to give me private lessons for the honeymoon. _Seriously…'_

Letting out a sigh, the grey haired man stepped inside the shop to take one last look, and while it's been decades since that particular incident, he could still remember Urd's reaction as if it was just yesterday.

" _Thanks but… no thanks! I've got more than enough help in the bedroom from my angel. If you REALLY want to help your little girl SO badly, then give me a hand in the kitchen, mom!"_

In a bizarre twist of fate, Hild's reaction to her daughter's joke took both of them by surprise. Instead of mercilessly teasing Keiichi about World of Elegance's alleged involvement in his relationship with Urd, the Daimakaicho eagerly accepted her daughter's ' _request'_ to help her in the kitchen. As a result, she'd show up at least once every weekend for the requested cooking lessons, and while Urd claimed that she absolutely hated them, Keiichi often caught her practicing in secret before her mother showed up for their next session.

'Never thought I'd say it, but I kind of miss those days. Well… for the most part, anyway.'

Many things had inevitably changed over the years with the most important being the newlyweds' departure from the temple. No matter how much he loved the peace and quiet they enjoyed in their temple residence, it always rubbed Keiichi a bit wrong that they got to stay there for free. In many ways, Keiichi never really felt that he earned the right to call that place his home and not long after he had finally married Urd, Keiichi decided that they needed a place of their own.

That turned out to be much more challenging that he'd ever expected, given that most houses he checked were either ridiculously small or far too expensive for them to afford. In the end the solution turned out to be a rather unique one, almost as unique as their own relationship was. Instead of buying a house, they almost literally built it on top of their shop. Given that, Elegant Retros was based on a prefabricated module, all they had to do was get more of them and simply stack them together. One was attached next to the already existing one, allowing them to have a much bigger workshop, while the remaining two were placed on top of the others and provided them with enough living space for two rooms, a bathroom, and a combined kitchen and living room.

Still, the mountain temple wasn't totally abandoned, since it remained as the ideal place for their friends and family to gather on numerous occasions. Especially when it came to Urd's sisters who often stayed there for several weeks at a time, with Vali and Dagaz dropping by as well, although… Lind often arrived to chaperone them. Which sounded pretty ironic, since Peorth typically accompanied her, and the mere sight of the rose goddess was more than enough to _induce_ scandalous thoughts instead of preventing them.

Stopping before the counter, Keiichi picked up a small picture frame with a group photo they've taken right after the wedding ceremony that appropriately took place in the Tariki Hongan temple. Everyone was there, from Urd's sisters to Vali and his mother, as well as Peorth and Dagaz who remained close to her for the duration of the day. However there were mortals present too, with Megumi and his parents standing the closest to him, as well as Chihiro and all the former members of the Motor Club showing up for the special occasion.

'I've seen all sorts of crazy things in my life, but the sight of Tamiya and Otaki in tuxedos… Good Heavens… I don't know if that was hilarious or scary!'

Even after all these years those two remained as eccentric as they used to be in their earlier days, although their antics became far more tame, given their age. Furthermore, with Otaki married to his old girlfriend, Satoko and Tamiya also spending years with a pretty eccentric woman and bike enthusiast he met on one of his trips abroad, the once infamous duo _had_ to calm down a bit. Of course with those two, everything was kind of relative.

Thankfully, aside from Keiichi's parents, not many had passed away as of yet, although he was almost certain that this was about to change much sooner than later. And in all honesty, Keiichi wasn't particularly fond of the idea to stick around to see everyone he knew and loved to die out of old age. Especially his sister who was already a happy grandmother of five teenage upstarts that definitely took after her, instead of her much more timid and levelheaded husband, Satoshi who actually used to be his right hand mechanic. As a matter of fact, that's where she met her future boyfriend and eventual spouse, after they both graduated and started looking for a job, and on sheer coincidence that happened about the same time Keiichi decided that he finally needed some helping hands in the shop.

'Who knew that, Megumi would end up choosing a modest guy like Satoshi… But then again, all the others she tried to date, ended up dumping her, so… I can't quite blame her. Although, it was perhaps for the best, given that the guy turned out to be a really decent man and a hard working one too.'

As he was about to set the photo down, Keiichi took a moment to glance at his own wife in her surprisingly modest wedding dress, which also came from a very unexpected source too: Hild. Against all expectations, the Daimakaicho decided to offer her daughter a seemingly… normal wedding dress. And for equally mysterious reasons, Urd accepted it without making too much a big deal. Of course, that didn't mean it was a dull or unimpressive dress; far from it. Mostly white and with numerous golden decorations and other pieces of jewelry, it would've easily fit for a royal wedding in terms of glamor. However, the surprising part, given who came up with the design was that it must've covered the most amount of skin than any of Urd's outfits and by a long shot too.

Even more impressive was the fact that both Urd and Hild remained close to each other during that day. Which was actually reflected in the photo, where Hild stood right next to her daughter with Belldandy and Skuld nearby, all while Keiichi was on the other side of Urd, dressed in a rather dull tuxedo he had borrowed from his father. In retrospect he should've tried harder to come up with something a bit more impressive to wear on that day. Yet, Keiichi felt that it was needed to come up with something on his own instead of asking his immortal friends for help, so, in the end he relied on Keima to give him a hand on this particular occasion.

After all, it was nice to somehow involve his father into the wedding's preparations, especially after worrying for a long time about his and even Takano's reaction to his choice to marry Urd. Although those two were far from the stereotypical Japanese couple, Keiichi still felt anxious about how they'd take the news of him marrying the seemingly easygoing half goddess.

'Thankfully, it turned out that I was worried for nothing, since they did end up liking Urd a lot. Well… at least as long Keima was a fair distance from her, and Urd didn't go all out with her attires. Boy that first time was honestly the worst… Then again, I should've warned her that extra low cut decollete wouldn't work with my dad. Poor Keima almost had a heart attack. At least she did lose a few rounds of Mahjong, so, Takano eventually forgave her.'

Chuckling at those decades old memories, Keiichi finally took one last look around the shop, especially the spot where he parked his trusty Beemer. It was rarely used these days, as the current lack of gasoline made it more of a luxury item than a viable transport method. Not that they didn't have all sorts of electric vehicles these days, but for old school petrolheads like Keiichi, those simply lacked the same appeal of a classic bike. Perhaps that was the biggest reason he wished to retire, aside from already working for nearly half a century. These days, bike mechanics were more like electronic engineers and even then it was hard to repair, let alone customize bikes that came packed with complicated microprocessors designed only to work within certain parameters and scenarios.

In a way he felt privileged that he got involved in the automotive industry while it was still fun to do so and personal vision could make a difference. But then again, Keiichi knew that he probably sounded like an old man from a long bygone era, which to a certain degree was absolutely true. He was the last among his friends to still own a CRT TV or even a rotary dial phone, while everyone around him used flat screen TVs and smartphones. Still, as Urd often joked, being married to the goddess of the past did have some downsides; although the benefits certainly surpassed them by far.

'She always knew how to make a nice joke, even at our own expense. But that's also part of her charm. While she's definitely vain, Urd never got that to affect her better judgment more that it was absolutely necessary. Especially as _old age_ got hold of her.'

Feeling that he had already more than enough for a day, Keiichi turned off the shop's lights and started to head to the indoors spiral staircase leading to the above floor where their main house actually was. Urd must've already packed her things by now, although he was absolutely certain that it must've been as hard for her as it was for him too.

Leaving a whole lifestyle behind was never something easy, even for a goddess.

XXX

"Ah… I see that you've dropped the old lady appearance. Well I guess I can call you _Urd-chan_ instead of _obaasan_ once again."

"Ha ha… you're _so_ hilarious, mom." Shaking her head, Urd simply lacked the mental fortitude to deal with her mother or… _long lost niece_ as she often had to introduce her to some of their neighbors who had no idea that Hild was actually a demoness. As a matter of fact, that was the very reason why Urd herself had to rely on a glamor spell to keep her actual appearance hidden. Although Hild simply refused to look like an old lady, and preferred to stay out of sight when some of their oldest friends who still remembered her dropped by for a visit. "Why are _you_ here, anyway? I've told you that I'm packing our stuff today, so, I'm too busy for your shenanigans."

"My, my… you still sound like a grumpy old lady, Urd-chan. Maybe you should try cheering up a bit, before you leave," said Hild with an annoyingly sweet smile, especially as she knew that it looked a bit out of character for her; and Urd was perfectly aware of that. "Which… is why _I'm_ here!"

"Get off my lawn, darn kid…" muttered the half goddess, much to her mother's great amusement.

"You know, jokes aside, you did a terrible job at being an old lady. Not only you remained fairly athletic for a gal of you supposed age, but you even outgunned some of the youngsters and without a hint of sagging, too. A couple of wrinkles here and there is hardly what I'd call enough to convince anyone," said Hild as she took a seat on the couch next to her daughter who simply fumed in silence. After all, she was in no mood today to repeat a decade old and fairly inconclusive debate between them. Knowing that she wasn't likely to get a reply, Hild extended a hand in the direction of the kitchenette at the other end of the room and levitated a bag of potato chips towards her, only to have it intercepted by her daughter instead. "Hey!... I wanted that!"

"Not only you show up unannounced _and_ empty handed… but you also want to eat _my_ chips. You're some piece of work…" Opening the bag in a rather over dramatic manner, the goddess proceeded to munch a couple of the barbeque flavored chips before she finally decided to share and extended her hand towards Hild who promptly took the whole bag; much to her daughter's annoyance. "Greedy demoness."

"It comes with the territory dear," said Hild while stuffing her mouth in a rather silly manner, until she finally earned a snort from Urd and decided that she had fooled around for long enough. It was about time she got to deal with the actual reason behind her visit and no matter how much her daughter dreaded it, there was no way to avoid this conversation. "Have you told her?"

"I did… and I can't say she took it lightly either," said Urd as she rubbed her temples. However, before she went on, the half goddess heard her husband enter their home and was about to welcome him… only for her mother to beat her to the punch.

" _Keiichi-kun!_ "

The unsuspecting man barely managed to register the voice of his mother in law, before his vision went completely dark and took several steps back from the sheer force of having a flying Hild smack bosom first onto his face. Any mortal man of his age would've ended up in hospital with a few fractures at best or a broken pelvis, should the demoness send him on a collision course with the floor. Providing that the tantalizing effect of all the skin contact thanks to Hild's ridiculously low neckline didn't cause their blood pressure to reach levels absolutely unhealthy for any other man of his age. " _Mmph!..._ "

"Aww!... you look so cute! I really missed seeing you without that silly disguise!" said Hild as she cuddled the embarrassed and deceptively young looking man. Although in all honesty, he was still the youngest of the immortals present in the room, no matter how hard it was for Keiichi to get used calling himself that.

"Alright! That's enough!" Grabbing her mother by the hips, Urd pulled her hard enough to detach the hovering demoness from the clearly overwhelmed Keiichi. "Get your paws off my husband! And before you even say it… Yes, that goes for your boobs, too!"

"But, it's been a long while since I last saw him like this!" said Hild in her defense, although her daughter's withering glare was more than enough to deter her from going any further with her flirty behavior. "Fine, fine... I'll go ahead and cook something for you three."

Letting out a frustrated sigh as she watched her mother walk towards the kitchenette, Urd turned to her husband and cleared her throat loudly to draw his attention away from Hild's swaying hips. "Eyes up, mister! I've got everything she has and then some!"

"Ah! Sorry!" said Keiichi with a blush that almost made the blue triangles on his cheeks disappear in an ocean of red that the rest of his face was. Unlike his wife, Keiichi only had two small markings, instead of three, like most of the other celestials he knew, but then again he was hardly powerful or important enough to justify a particularly elaborate control program placed on his person. Not that, Keiichi really cared much about any of that.

As a matter of fact, he was more or less ready to turn Tyr's offer down, when the Daitenkaicho first told him about the possibility of becoming a god as a reward for helping Urd for so long, especially during the time she went berserk. However… a quick glance over at Urd, made Keiichi's resolve falter when he noticed how the goddess' eyes light up at the mere mention of staying with him for much, _much_ longer that it would've been possible should he declined the offer. As a result, Tyr's wedding gift to his son in law was the very thing humanity kept dreaming for entire millennia, yet never attained: immortality.

"Oh well… at least you no longer look like a dirty old man when you're a bit too honest with yourself," said Urd with a smirk, while Keiichi did his best to pretend that he heard nothing.

Instead, Keiichi decided to tackle what was the proverbial elephant in the room, since this was going to be the hardest thing they still had to do. "Actually… have you managed to convince her? We need to move out of this property by tomorrow, so…"

Letting out a sigh as her smile disappeared, Urd glanced over her shoulder and to the direction of the almost barricaded room she had repeatedly failed to enter during the last couple of hours. "Not yet, Keiichi. I've tried, but she just won't listen to me."

"Maybe I should give it a try too? Or ask Bell to talk to her and…" tried Keiichi as he racked his brain to come up with alternatives, but stopped when his wife shook her head.

"No. This is something _I_ have to do. And you know what? I _will_ do it! One way or another!" said Urd with great determination evident in her eyes, before she turned and headed for what was likely a confrontation. "Just wish me luck."

"I do, but… please, don't push her too hard, Urd. It's our fault she's in this situation," said Keiichi as his features softened and for a moment, so did Urd's.

"I know, love. That's why I need to do it myself."

XXX

"Go away! I don't want to hear it!"

Standing before the locked door, Urd struggled to still her tongue and avoid any poorly thought reply, caused by her sheer frustration. While she sympathized with the poor girl, or rather… woman as she was already old enough to be considered as an adult, Urd couldn't help but note how far the family resemblance went and not just in terms of looks, but personality too. "Stop being such a big baby, and open the freaking door, Sjofn! And don't you dare ignore me like you did yesterday! I won't leave until you talk to me!"

" _Screw you!_ " came the angry retort, that only infuriated Urd further, until the Norn remembered her mother's advice for situations like these; the best defense was a good offense.

"I've got many kinks, but incest isn't one of them, young lady!" said Urd and then smirked as she added in a much calmer tone. "But… we _can_ arrange you something if you're in the mood for a girl. Just tell me if you'd prefer a goddess or a demoness and we can go from there. I know a few who are quite the lookers and available, too!"

There was a long and almost awkward pause as the goddess on the other side of the door probably had some hard time accepting that she heard correctly and eventually unlocked the door. Poking her head out of her room, the dark haired goddess stared right at Urd with mixed suspicion and worry, which only made the latter smirked in response. "Uh… mom?... Please tell me you haven't tested any of your latest potions on you. Last time you did… you… Huh?"

Coming to an abrupt halt, Sjofn's purple eyes went large when she registered the sight before her, especially now that she calmed down a bit. "Your face… You took your disguise off."

"Yep! And so did your dad for the matter. Not bad, huh?" said Urd with a wink as she proudly posed for her daughter, yet at the same time place her foot in such a strategic way to prevent her unruly offspring from closing the door on her. "Oh, and I totally got you, kiddo!"

"I'm not a kid!" said Sjofn in such a manner that almost reminded Urd of her youngest sister during her earlier days. Although in her daughter's defense, she was absolutely right, given that she already stood as tall as Urd herself. And this was far from where the similarities ended, since Sjofn shared the same body type and even skin complexion with Urd, despite her young age. Of course, just like her mother before her, Sjofn had her own personal issues and while her nature wasn't one of them, given that she was a seemingly pure blooded goddess, there were still a few oddities about her, with her age being the biggest.

By immortal standards, Sjofn was aging far too fast and reached her adulthood way sooner than any of her peers, yet the same couldn't be said about the humans. From their perspective, Sjofn was aging way too slowly, as it took her more than thirty whole years to reach adulthood; when a normal human only needed eighteen years to do the same. Thankfully, now that she hit that critical age, her growth rate would significantly slow down to a crawl and allow her to better socialize with her fellow immortals. On the other hand though, the same couldn't be said about the humans she grew up with, which was primary cause of this whole crisis and the very thing Urd needed to convince her daughter about: relocating to Asgard.

"That _is_ the problem, actually," said Urd with a sigh as she took a few steps forward and this time her daughter moved aside, allowing her mother to enter the room.

Reflecting the young goddess' various interests and even ancestry, Sjofn's room was packed with all sorts of random things. From posters of popular boy bands and manga anthologies, to books of mechanical engineering or even a few lists of alchemical ingredients and mystical tomes, Sjofn had amassed such an abundance of possessions that came from both the immortal and the human world she spent most of her life in. Furthermore, the vast majority of her outfits were a mismatched mix of designs she had seen during her visits to her aunts, with certain things she picked from the local shops in Nekomi. As a result, she was the only goddess sporting denim pants as part of her official robes. Although it was also true that the decision was partially taken to appease Urd, after the latter got a glimpse of her daughter's underwear. Which pretty much convinced Urd that Sjofn wasn't to be trusted with skirts, unless she was within eyesight.

However, it was those influences from the mortal realm that made it hard for the young goddess to leave her current life behind and move to what was essentially a foreign land for her; if not an alien world altogether. Which is exactly what brought her into a clash with her mother over the whole subject, since they otherwise went along pretty well, much to Keiichi's dismay at times.

"The problem, you say? _What problem?_ Everything was fine with the shop and then all of a sudden… _bam!_ We _must_ pack things up and leave!" said Sjofn, throwing her hands in the air in frustration. "I know that dad needs to retire and all, but!..."

"No, your dad needs to… well… die at some point of time. At least from a legal point of view," said Urd, much to her daughter's confusion.

"Eh? What are you talking about?"

"Sjofn… we're immortals; all three of us. Yet the rest of the world around us isn't. I had to wear a disguise to keep the others from getting suspicious, and with the exception of Megumi, pretty much everyone else doesn't know _what_ we really are. It's hard… it really is. To see people you care for grow old and eventually reach the end of their lifespan… it feels like a part of you is gone. This is something we had to face when Takano and Keima passed away, and I fear that most of our close friends are also reaching that point too," said Urd as her facial features softened and put a hand on her daughter's shoulders. "As it is, there's nothing we can do for me and your father to escape that fate, and he's fully aware that inevitably he's going to have to say goodbye again and again to… everyone he knew. So, neither of us wants you to experience this as well, at least not to the same extent we do."

"I know… It's not like I'm a stranger of keeping my actual age a secret and pretend that I'm a much younger girl than I'm supposed to."

"Not by divine standards, Sjofn. And that's why we never wanted to take you to Asgard too early. You'd be too immature for someone of your looks, and… well, let's just leave it at that," said Urd as she stopped before going too far with that train of thought. "However, now that you're old enough, both physically and mentally, it's about time we go where you'll manage to fit in the society way better than you'll ever do here."

"Fit in? _Me? In Asgard?_ Did you start trying your potions again, mom?" asked the incredulous yet sarcastic Sjofn, as she raised an eyebrow at her mother. "They won't accept a _counterfeit_ goddess like me!"

"Don't call yourself that nonsense again!" barked Urd, causing her daughter to take a step back when she saw those canines poke out of the Norn's lips. "You're as much of a goddess as anyone else in that blasted place! Just because they've got a stick up their pretentious asses, that doesn't mean anything to you!"

"Okay, okay! I got it! You don't have to get angry with me!"

"I'm not angry with _you_ , Sjofn. Maybe with myself for falling in the same trap of thinking less of me when I was your age… and possibly passed that stupid trait to you," said Urd in a voice so low that it was barely above a whisper. However she soon perked up and stared at her daughter with great pride, as her lips curled up in a smile. "On the other hand, you did get couple of good traits, too."

"Mom! Stop this, it's embarrassing!" protested Sjofn with a blush as she crossed her arms before her, mostly to hide her chest from Urd.

"I was talking about your personality traits, silly! Although if we take your physical ones…" said Urd as her smile turned into a smirk. "Boy, did you fill out nicely!"

" _Mom!_ "

Chuckling, Urd watched her daughter puff her cheeks in annoyance, until she too relaxed and started to giggle. "There! Took me a while, but I've got you to smile once again. Look, I'm really sorry for not taking your feelings into consideration, but I honestly thought that in the long run this solution was for your best," added Urd, but then her expression became more somber and even slightly sad. "Funny that, actually. I almost sound like my mother when she dropped me at my father's care..."

"Not really. If that was the case, I would've been told of what was going on _after_ we relocated," said Sjofn in a deadpan voice, before she turned and headed for her closet and began to take her clothes out and toss them haphazardly onto her bed.

"What are you doing?" asked the confused Urd, while Sjofn went to the other side of the room to pick one of her luggage bags.

"Packing my stuff. What else?" answered Sjofn as she folded her clothes and proceeded to neatly arrange them inside the bag. "I've given you more than enough trouble by acting like a little bitch. After all, you're right. You and dad have a lot more people to leave behind than the few friends I have, and… I don't think I really want to stick around them with a disguise either. That's where Internet comes in handy these days, so, it's not like I won't be able to keep in touch with them."

'Well… that worked better than I've hoped for, but… Why do I feel so bad about it?' thought Urd as she watched her daughter begin the arduous task of gathering her belongings so that she could pack them too. "Alright, that's enough. We're not doing this."

"Huh? Not doing what?" asked Sjofn as she stared her mother in wonder.

"This is your home, so… no matter what, I'm not gonna take that from you, and that's final!" Reaching into the bag, Urd went through her daughter's clothes, much to the latter's embarrassment when _her mother_ of all goddesses paused a few times and gave her an empty stare whenever she found something that even _she_ wouldn't dare to put on. Eventually though, Urd managed to find a lovely minidress and tossed it to her stunned daughter. "Put this on, girl! We're going clubbing!"

"Eh?! But!... What about the..."

"No arguments, missy!" said Urd as she interrupted her baffled daughter, and summoned a similar looking golden minidress to match her daughter's purple one. "Relocation or not, you won't lose your room, nor the rest of your home. Now, get dressed and text your friends for a night out, to celebrate you leaving for… _college_. I'll go and get mom too, since I don't trust her stay here with Keiichi."

"Uh huh," was all Sjofn could say as she offered a nod, still unable to understand what was going on anymore.

However, as Urd was about to step out of the room, she paused and turned around to make sure that her daughter knew the rules for this occasion. "Oh, by the way… Booze is alright, and you can flirt a bit if you want; maybe a kiss, too. But if I catch you with your panties down, I'm conscripting you to the Valkyries! Got me, missy?"

" _MOM!_ "

XXX

Hours later, when someone decided to ring the doorbell, Keiichi was almost certain that it was his wife along with their daughter and Hild who finally returned from their little excursion. However, as soon as he opened the door, Keiichi was in for a surprise, since the woman standing before him was none of the above; instead, it was a very familiar face.

"Hello there, Kei-chan. It's been a while since I last saw you without that old man's disguise on," said his younger sister, although at the moment it was unlikely for anyone not familiar with them to draw that conclusion, given that the white haired woman looked significantly older than him.

"Megumi?" While it was definitely a surprise to see his sister visit him all of a sudden, Keiichi knew that this was likely Urd's doing. His original plan was to tell her about their departure after the fact, but his wife had apparently other ideas. Which… most likely ended up in this visit, and one that most certainly wasn't too thrilled about.

"What's up with the long face, Kei-chan? Did I interrupt you two? Or is my naughty niece giving you trouble?" Despite her age, that cat like smile that was almost synonymous of his sister was still present on her lips, as if she hadn't changed on the inside at all.

Stepping aside as he let out a sigh, Keiichi motioned for his sister to enter and watched her take a seat on the sofa, before he headed to get a cup of tea for her. "No, not really. Urd and Hild took Sjofn at a nightclub, so I was just watching an old race on the TV."

"Oh? Are you sure that's advisable, Kei-chan?" asked Megumi with a grin as she leaned forward a bit to give her curious brother a wink. "Who knows what Urd and HIld might come up with?"

"Come on, Megumi! I know that Urd's a bit of a tease, but she never actually flirted with anyone since we started dating, let alone after we got married," said Keiichi with a shake of his head.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean she and Hild cannot find a date for our… not so little Sjofn," said Megumi with a grin that made Keiichi to raise an eyebrow. "After all, she turned up to be a fine woman, or should I say goddess? Well… either way I think you got my point."

As a matter of fact, Keiichi did more than that, as his face paled considerably, before panic got grip of his better judgment. "I need to stop them! Sjofn isn't… I mean… she's not ready!... I mean…"

"Calm down a bit, Kei-chan! I'm just joking!" said Megumi between giggles, but eventually stopped when she started coughing and almost in an instant, Keiichi seemed to snap out of it. However as she saw him get up to help her, Megumi simply waved a hand dismissively at her brother. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Looks like I just choked on my own saliva. Talk about embarrassing."

' _Right…_ Who are you kidding, Megumi?' Even though she acted like her old self, Megumi certainly wasn't a young gal anymore and Keiichi was fully aware of that fact. Still, there was unfortunately little he could do to solve the problem's root cause; his sister's mortality. "I…"

" _You_ need to stop being such a worrywart," said Megumi, interrupting her brother as she already knew what he was eating him. "It's not your fault that I'm getting older; just a mere fact of life. If nothing else, you should listen to Urd's advice from back when Keima passed away. _To live embracing painful memories, can turn them into your shackles._ "

"Which is why you shouldn't forget the happy ones too," finished Keiichi for his sister, as he recalled Urd's words. "I haven't forgotten about that, but… putting the theory to practice isn't nearly as simple as it sounds. Especially when I don't quite feel I deserve cheating death myself."

"Perhaps… because you think like that is part of the reason why you were presented with that offer, to begin with. Anyone with your current powers and connections would've lived much better than anyone else on this planet; yet you kept working hard and without even using your abilities to make things easier on you. Not even restoration spells to instantaneously fix bike parts and for no cost at all, too."

"But!... That's cheating! How can I say that I worked hard to earn my living, when in reality all I would've done is just mutter a few words and… spend the rest of my day fooling around? All while my local colleagues toiled hard to keep up with me?"

"Your _competitors_ , you mean," said Megumi with a grin. "See? That's what I'm talking about, Kei-chan. Most others would've enjoyed the benefits of being a god to the fullest, yet you're still the same lovable dork you used to."

"Gee… Thanks Megumi…" said Keiichi with a snort, despite that his lips curled up in a tiny smile.

"What can I say? I'm such a sweetheart. But enough of this attitude, Kei-chan!" said Megumi in a much more stern voice than she used to most of the time. "You're about to start a new life in an unfamiliar place. And if that sounds intimidating to you, I don't even think I need to mention how it must feel for your daughter. So, keep your act together and take good care of your family, especially now that they'll need you the most."

"You're right, Megumi. I sometimes forget that Sjofn still needs me and Urd, despite her age… which isn't all that much based on celestial standards, anyway," said Keiichi with a sigh, before he noticed the rather mischievous grin on his sister's face. "Uh… what's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing much, Kei-chan. I was just thinking that just because Sjofn grew up, that doesn't mean you're off the hook. Being a dad can be still quite a challenge even when you think you're already faced everything and it's just a matter of using the same approach for a second time," said Megumi, still with the same cryptic smile on her face, that only confused Keiichi even further.

"Well, given that she took after Urd a lot more than me, Sjofn sure is a hard to deal with goddess," said Keiichi with a sheepish expression, but then went on, just to avoid any misunderstandings. "Although to be fair, I really think that she's also the best daughter I could've asked for."

"Let's hope you're still going to say that in the near future, Kei-chan."

'Alright… there's something definitely up here. But… what?' Staring at his smiling sister, Keiichi was almost certain that she was hiding something from him, but given Megumi's mischievous nature, it was all but impossible even for a god to predict just what she was up to this time. "If you say so, Megumi. Although..."

Before he got the chance to continue his sentence, the aged Morisato looked at her watch and decided that she had to come up with an excuse to get out of there, before she ended up spilling the beans. "Oh, my! It's already this late? Well, I suppose I need to get back home, before _my_ daughter starts worrying about little ol' me."

"Sure thing, Megumi! Want me to drive you to your home?" asked Keiichi as he got up to grab his minivan's wireless key. "It's not like I've got to sit here and wait for the girls to return."

"Thank you, Kei-chan, but my son in law will come to pick me up," said Megumi as she got up and headed for the exit. However, before she left, the aging woman stopped and turned to give her brother a stern look. "Oh, and just as a friendly reminder… I hope you won't forget your promise to visit us during weekends. Relocation or not, a promise is a promise."

"Don't worry about that, Megumi! A promise is something any god should take really seriously," said Keiichi with a reassuring smile, before his expression darkened a bit. "And even if I wanted to forget about it, I seriously doubt that Hild will allow it. You know that we're not only visiting you, but her as well, since Earth is the best place to do so."

"Ah… the benefits of having a demoness for a mother in law," said Megumi with a chuckle, that ended up making Keiichi laugh at his own predicament. "There! That's the spirit, Kei-chan!"

"Thanks, Megumi. I really needed that," said Keiichi as he helped his sister down the stairs. "See you next weekend!"

"I'll be waiting," said Megumi as her expression softened, but before she walked away from her brother's shop and home, Megumi turned around once more and waved at him. "Oh! And before I forget! Tell Urd that I said _good job!_ "

"Huh? Sure thing…" said Keiichi as he still couldn't quite understand what his sister was talking about.

'Good job for… _what?_ Did anything happen and they're not telling me? Or is she referring to Urd's efforts to convince Sjofn to come along with us? Strange…'

XXX

 _Asgard_

"It was absolutely terrifying! I… I just wanted to take a short nap under that tree's shade, and then all of a sudden… _BAM!_ A freaking house landed on top my poor tail! It was terrifying, I tell you! I'm physically _and_ emotionally traumatized!"

Nodding as he recorded the incident on his datapad, the blue haired war god did his best to sound reassuring as he addressed the distressed dog who inadvertently ended up becoming the latest victim of Asgard's most infamous goddess of chaos and destruction. "Very well, I reassure you that the matter will be taken care of, citizen. If you need any further examination of your tail, please visit the local healer and the Fighting Wings will cover the expenses."

Limping away, although mostly to make his injury look even worse than it really was, the dog paused for a moment to cast a glance at the trio who was responsible for his ailment. However, while two of them seemed rather guilty about the whole incident, the oldest among them… simply flipped the bird at the incredulous dog, since in her opinion, he was making a big fuss over nothing.

"Oh, piss off you crybaby! The only thing hurt is your over inflated ego," said Urd, much to her spouse's horror. "Surely if you were actually hurt, you would've accepted my gracious offer to heal you!"

"Who in their right mind wants a stinking potion that gives off purple smoke?! Not me, that's for sure!" barked the stray dog, only to freeze when he noticed the gleam in the bronze skinned goddess' eyes.

" _What did you call my potion?_ " asked Urd in such a low tone that send shivers even to the war god who decided to stop her before she turned the poor mutt into one of her ingredients.

"Alright, that's enough, Urd. Let the poor guy leave. There's no need to make a bigger mess of this and end up getting a reprimand, the very day of your return."

"Fine… I suppose you've a point there, Vali," said Urd as she watched the offending canine run away while he still had the chance. "Still, that's quite the welcome. I never thought you'd be so happy to see me! Are all those for me?"

"Unfortunately… yes," said Vali with a sigh, while he handed the tickets to Urd. "You just got here and you've already broken a bunch of laws. Unauthorized transport of large object, attempt to smuggle said object into Asgard without passing it through Customs, and involvement in accident due to sheer carelessness."

" _Whee!..."_ said Urd in a sarcastic tone as she tugged at her top, lowering it far beyond the rules of common decency in order to stash the tickets into her blouse. "Thanks for the gifts, Vali! You really know how to make a goddess feel special."

"My pleasure," came the equally sarcastic reply, before both of them started to chuckle. "It's nice to have you back, though."

"I never thought I'd say it, but… I kind of missed this place; even though the rules suck big time," said the goddess of the past, before she noticed Skuld and Peorth walk towards them, with Dagaz close behind. "Well, well… looks like we've attracted a crowd!"

"Isn't that the norm for you?" said Skuld with a grin as she approached her eldest sister and right as she was about to give her a hug… she went straight for Sjofn; leaving Urd with a blank expression that soon turned into a dirty one.

" _Auntie Skuld!_ " Grabbing the shorter and seemingly younger goddess into a tight hug, Sjofn was delighted to see her favorite of her two aunts. Not that she didn't like Belldandy, but given that Skuld was much closer to her own age, and more importantly her way of thinking, Sjofn could discuss things with her that she would've never dared with Belldandy. "You haven't grown an inch!"

Struggling to get her face out of her niece's bosom, Skuld offered her a rare grin, instead of a bomb in the face, as she would've done with pretty much anyone else. Even Urd herself couldn't tease her little sister to this extent without getting punished for it; yet Sjofn was the one goddess, Skuld allowed to do just that. "Heh… I'm almost there, though. Give me a decade and we're going to look about the same age!"

"Uh huh… Same age, different cup size," said Sjofn with a wink as she arched her back to make the difference between them even more pronounced than it already was.

Most of the bystanders took a step back, included Dagaz who was genuinely blushing; although whether it was due to what was happening or the fact that he found himself hiding behind Peorth, that… nobody could tell for sure. Actually, even Urd thought that this was the time her daughter crossed the line and moved to grab the troublemaker by the ear, before Skuld blasted her sky high, but the Norn of the future stopped her.

"Let the poor kid have some fun, Urd. It's her first day here, so it's not like I'll get mad with her," said Skuld with such a sweet smile that seemed almost… suspicious. Turning to her niece, Skuld tapped her shoulders, with that smile still evident in her face. "You know… speaking of your first day here, how about I take you on a tour where I work? Oh, you're definitely gonna love it! And Peorth is in need of an assistant now that Chrono is a full time Valkyrie!"

"ME! I can do it!" came a voice that belonged to the one god willing to face Skuld's wrath, should it allowed him attain his dream of working under the most salacious of all administrators: Peorth.

" _Not happening, buster!_ " snapped Skuld at her assistant who cowered behind Peorth, although for once he didn't mind it. Which was _so_ obvious that Skuld wasn't going to let this transgression go any further. "Hey! Did you hear a word I said?"

"I don't think so," said Peorth with an amused giggle as she watched the almost literal fumes come off Skuld.

Breathing out more steam than a speeding locomotive, Skuld raised her right hand skywards in a _very_ familiar fashion, before she uttered something that made her sister's eyes go wide. " _Skuld bolt!_ "

" _You little copycat!_ That's one of _my_ spells! Actually… scratch that! When did _you_ start to use spells anyway?" asked the stunned goddess of the past, when lighting descended upon the offending god; missing Peorth by a hair, much to her great annoyance.

"Hey! Are you implying that I can't use magic?" shot Skuld back to her eldest sister, as she took a few steps towards her, while Peorth simply shook her head and decided to check Dagaz for any actual injuries; just in case Skuld went a bit far by accident.

And while the two Norns squabbled like they loved to, Keiichi couldn't help but chuckle a bit. He wasn't terribly concerned about them, since he already knew that this was just their way of showing each other that they cared and even that they missed each other. In many ways, this whole situation reminded him of the old days back in the temple whenever the Norns and his former housemates came for a visit, which… more than often resulted into scenes like this. But for Keiichi it was more that just a feeling of nostalgia that overcame his senses; it was also a sense of realization of how different time seemed to pass between the mortal and the celestial realm.

There was a sense that everything here was eternal and while that may had its downsides, it also meant that unlike Earth, certain things lasted here for eons to come. And by moving his home and shop in this place, Keiichi was almost certain that not only did they saved it from being torn down by whoever bought that plot of land, but they also preserved everything else that came with it. Decades worth of memories, dreams and wishes, some of which came to be and a few that still remain at the back of their minds… all were preserved into this seemingly modest building. Even if it looked like a joke compared to the grand architecture of the massive houses that the rest of celestials were most familiar with, Keiichi knew that his and Urd's little place was steeped with history, despite how new it was compared to everything else here.

And perhaps, if what Urd speculated were to become reality… long after their loved ones back on Earth passed away, this house could act as an anchor to allow them to drop by for a short 'visit' every now and then. Just like what happened with Keima and Takano a bit over a decade ago when the couple realized just what was going on between Urd and Keiichi, as well as what their true nature was. However, now that they were in Asgard, such visits would've been much easier, and while Keiichi wasn't exactly looking forward to see other family members and friends, it made him feel somewhat better to know that he could still meet them.

"Welcome to Asgard, Keiichi-kun."

The calm, soothing voice that came from behind him, caused the once mortal man to nearly jump as he was too preoccupied with his thoughts, to actually notice the Valkyrie's approach. Lind had received news of his and Urd's arrival from Vali and decided to come to personally greet one of the few gods outside of the Fighting Wings she considered as a friend. And perhaps help convince Sjofn to consider becoming a Valkyrie cadet, since goddesses with her power, pedigree and even attitude were hard to come by these days.

"Oh, hello Lind! I'm sorry, but I didn't notice you," said Keiichi with a nervous chuckle, since he knew that this most certainly one of the warrior's skills originally meant to ambush her targets.

"My apologies. I tried to grab your attention, but Urd and Skuld were making too much noise for my voice to be heard," said Lind with a ghost of a smile, before she turned to look at the goddess flying towards them. "Ah, there she is. I wondered what was holding her up."

"Huh?" Following her gaze, Keiichi saw Belldandy on her flying broom, carrying a small box with her.

"Sorry I was so late, everyone!" Coming to a stop right in front of Keiichi and Lind, the brunette goddess of the present hopped off Stringfellow and after casting a glance towards her sisters, who immediately stopped their rather immature squabble, Belldandy offered Keiichi a warm smile. "I'm really happy that you actually decided to move your house here! It's so great that, Sjofn will keep her room! Although… isn't it going to be a bit hard for all of you to fit in there, now that Urd's expecting?"

" _Belldandy you babble mouth!_ " shouted Urd as she rushed to grab her sister before she said anything more, although… its was far too late. In retrospect, she knew that she should've explicitly warned her to remain quiet about it, but with Sjofn being difficult, the half goddess totally forgot about it. "Oops… Um… she said nothing! Carry on, don't mind us!"

Staring at his wife with wide eyes, the stunned Keiichi made a few attempts to say something, but in the end all he managed to do is make a fine imitation of a fish out of water. Sjofn on the other hand was a bit less shocked than her father to actually confront her mother.

" _Wait! You're… pregnant? For real?_ "

"Ugh! It was supposed to be surprise… Thanks, Bell!..." said Urd, adding the last bit in a slightly sarcastic yet playful manner as she glanced at her younger sibling who idly fiddled with her hair locks as she tried to look innocent. Letting out a sigh, Urd finally decided that given the circumstances, there was no longer the need to keep quiet and gave her daughter a toothy grin. "Well, I hope you're looking forward for a little sister!"

" _EH?! L-Little… s-sister?!_ " squeaked Sjofn as she finally began to realize that this was actually happening. And… she promptly fainted, since it was all too much even for her divine mind to process all that at once.

Catching her daughter, Urd couldn't help but giggle as the similarities between her unruly child and the seemingly reserved Keiichi began to show. "Heh… I guess she's indeed your daughter. Right, Keiichi?" asked Urd, only to notice that her husband was in a very similar state, and currently supported by Lind, who happened to be the closest one to catch him.

"I'd probably say so," was the Valkyrie's stoic reply, while Skuld along with the others began to laugh at the two Morisatos.

However, with the proverbial cat out of the bag, the plans for the welcoming party had to be somewhat modified to take this development into account. Or rather… it was actually no longer necessary to keep the originally intended party's details a secret, since both Skuld and Belldandy had been preparing not only to celebrate Urd's homecoming, but also for the newest addition of her family. Which was exactly why the middle Norn arrived so late, after she went for a last minute shopping trip to buy a few extra things for the unborn goddess.

And while the Norns moved Keiichi and Sjofn back into the now relocated house, two figures watched the unfolding events from a fair distance, and couldn't help but smile at the scene. Given their tight schedule, Tyr and Ansuz were naturally the last to arrive at their daughter's house, yet unlike their past habits, this time they made it absolutely clear that this was an even they weren't going to miss.

"You know, love… I'm still debating whether your decision to suspend Urd's license back then was your worst idea ever or… the best, but for totally unrelated reasons to the original intent," said Ansuz as she gave her husband something to think about, as well as a fair warning that she wasn't all too supportive of such a measure; for future reference, of course.

"I suppose that judging by the result, it did allow some good things to happen," said Tyr as he nervously cleared his throat, given the pointed look he received from his wife. "But in all honesty, I wouldn't change a thing, even if I had the opportunity, Ansuz. I've never seen Urd so happy before and Sjofn is a true blessing for her. Even if she's a bit… difficult to handle at times, she definitely adores her parents. And for Urd in particular, that's the greatest gift one could possibly offer her."

"Hm… I never thought you'd get moved, dear," said Ansuz in playful manner, that was further evidence by her winglets fluttering as she winked at her husband.

"Who's moved?" came Tyr's reply, in an attempt to save face, even if it was too late for that.

"A _certain_ grandfather," replied Ansuz with a chuckle as she elbowed her husband's ribs, much to his annoyance. "By the way… What did Hild say about this?"

"She's happy of course, but… understandably skeptical, since Urd and her second daughter will be staying here for the most. I did reassure her that Urd was going to visit her during weekends, although in the long run, I fear that this might not be enough," admitted Tyr as he knew all too well how difficult it was sometimes to make such arrangements while managing an entire realm at the same time, and Hild was in a very similar position herself. "As such, it's probably for the best if we allow Hild to visit them whenever she wants, and more importantly, develop the same bond she has with Sjofn."

"Although I've got no objections, I must admit that having another… outgoing girl like Sjofn could prove to be a bit too much for poor Urd to handle. Are you sure it's advisable?"

"No, but I'm absolutely certain that it's _not_ advisable to deny her the chance to meet her maternal grandmother and learn about a part of her legacy in the same fashion Sjofn did. Besides, Urd may be reluctant to admit it, but aside from her sisters, it was Hild the one she trusted the most to take care of Sjofn whenever her presence was needed elsewhere," said Tyr before he gave his wife a sideways glance. "Which… means that you're going to make sure that she behaves during her visits."

"You almost makes it sound easy!" said Ansuz in mock shock, but then started to giggle, causing Tyr to join in with a chuckle of his own. "Alright, I'll see what I can do, but in the meantime, I suppose we need to go and say hello."

"I think so too." Walking towards Urd's house, Tyr did pause for a moment to check on his communicator, and more specifically the photo of his firstborn granddaughter along with her parents and Hild floating above them.

'No, I certainly have no regrets sending her to Earth.'

XXX

 _Years later_

"Oneesama! Look what I found!"

Holding the glass jar above her head with her tiny hands, the tiny goddess run as fast as her small feet could carry her. Especially while trying to outmaneuver her particularly annoyed mother who just realized that her entire stock of hair growth pills just went missing.

" _Var! Come here, you little troll! That's not candy!_ "

Looking up from her book, Sjofn couldn't help but find the sight of her little sister running across the living room to be utterly amusing, despite the obvious risk associated with the contents of that jar. Sjofn herself had learned from a very young age that her mother's potions weren't something she wanted to mess around with, but it seemed that her little sister had other ideas. Then again, such a thing was to be expected as Var had taken after Urd even more that Sjofn herself. Which was partially reflected by the little goddess' appearance that greatly resembled that of her mother's, with the notable exception of her eyes that clearly reminded everyone of Keiichi. However, that's far from the only things that the youngest addition in Urd's family had in common with her mother.

Var simply loved to mess around with whatever alchemical ingredient she could get her hands on, and even when she found nothing of use, the little goddess would simply raid the kitchen for common things, which… ended up in some highly uncommon if not downright atrocious recipes of her own. Yet despite all her failures, Var did learn something of value from each of them and moved on to produce a better result, which in many ways brought a smile on her mother's face; even if she had to act in a much more strict manner around her, just for the sake of dissuading her daughter from going too far and try anything dangerous. Like the time she somehow managed to recreate a fizzy drink she heard about from her big sister and ended up getting Belldandy totally smashed when she tried it.

Of course, it was up to anyone's guess as to how much the little troublemaker would take after Urd's personality after she grew up a bit, but then again, even Sjofn who had gained a reputation of being rather outgoing, seemed to calm down considerably in the last couple of years. As a matter of fact, as soon as Var was born, Sjofn started to dress and act in a vastly different manner that could be described as modest. For the most part at least, since she had a long road ahead of her if she wanted to become anything like Belldandy, although in all fairness that wasn't exactly Sjofn's goal. What she really wanted was to become an administrator, just like her mother, although Sjofn took that job a lot more seriously than Urd.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that she knew from first hand that life on the mortal realm depended on the celestial supercomputer and more than anything else, doing a great job at the Yggdrasil complex could help protect her birthplace. So, unlike most others who simply saw that assignment as a job no different than anything else one could do in Asgard, Sjofn really loved working as System administrator, which was most likely the biggest difference between herself and her mother. Still, for some of the celestials who got to know her, this may had been one of the greatest contributions of her father, as her own sense of responsibility was something that Keiichi was mostly known for.

And that was also the reason why Var looked up to her sister as a role model, not unlike Skuld did with Belldandy a long time ago. That and the mere fact that given the lack of space in their house, Sjofn volunteered to share her room with Var, causing the two sisters to become almost inseparable.

"Var… what have I told you about touching mom's potions?" asked Sjofn as she carefully took the jar out of her sister's hands and once it was safely placed on the nearby table, she picked her sister up and gave her a warm hug.

"Uh… that they taste really bad?" said the toddler as she innocently stuck a finger into her mouth.

"No! The other thing I told you!" said Sjofn as she could already feel her mother's intense gaze burning holes into her back; figuratively speaking of course.

"That if they don't turn me into a frog, they'll turn me into a giant?"

" _No! Dad said that, not me!_ " cried the panicking brunette, but it was far too late to save herself and possibly her sister from what cruel fate awaited them. Feeling a hand claw at her shoulder, Sjofn knew that it belonged to her mother, who at this point must've reached her limit. "Um… at least… spare the kid?"

"Too late for that, you knuckleheads…" said Urd with a grin as she held up the one thing her daughters hated the most: a dusting feather. "It's time you clean up the house!"

" _Oh, poo on a cracker!_ " exclaimed the youngest of the three goddess, causing the others to reel back in shock at the somewhat explicit language Var was demonstrating.

'One of them is _still_ a closet pervert, despite her mannerisms… and the other is on the way to become a punk! What have I done wrong?' Pinching the bridge of her nose, Urd knew that she had to finally admit defeat and call in for reinforcements; namely, Belldandy. "Alright, that's it! I'm calling for auntie Bell to teach you how proper goddesses act! Oh, you're definitely going to _love_ housework by the time she's done with the lot of you!"

However, before she got to reach for her communicator in order to call her sister, Keiichi's startled cry signaled the arrival of the only immortal who just refused to use the front door. Or any door for that matter, since Hild loved to ambush her son in law whenever she got the opportunity. "MOM! I swear if you're naked in there… I'll kick your sorry ass!"

Marching towards the bath, Urd swung the door open and prepared for the worst. Yet unlike her expectations, Hild was not only fully clothed… at least by her standards, but also hovering leisurely in the air. Instead, the one who ended up on top of Keiichi was a very different demoness.

"Et tu, Mara?" asked Urd as she raised an eyebrow and tried hard to ignore her mother's amused chuckle.

"Hey, I swear someone messed with my portal!" objected the blonde demoness as she tried to get off of the stunned god.

"Uh huh…" Of course, Urd had a very good idea who that _someone_ was, but for the time being she said nothing else, and simply enjoyed the panicked look on her friend's face. It was nice to see Mara after so many years, since she rarely got to talk to her ever after they moved to Asgard. Only after she had Var pull the dreaded puppy eyes on her grandfather, did the blonde demoness get the necessary visa to drop by along with Hild. And even then, it's been an even longer since they got to hit a bar; not when she had two daughters to take care for. "Anyway… instead of humping my husband, how about we have a drink over at my minibar?"

"Who's humping your…" started Mara, until she realized that taking Urd's offer was much better than starting an argument with her. "Actually, I don't mind having a drink after coming all the way here."

"Excellent! This way, Ma-chan!" said Urd as she wrapped an arm around her blonde friend and led her towards her and Keiichi's room where she kept her booze, in hopes of keeping Var's hands off of anything alcoholic. Unlike mortal children who were only capable of drinking the stuff, young immortals could cause a much greater problem by setting their home ablaze should they try some strong spirits… only to spit the highly flammable liquid when they realized that they didn't quite like the taste. And with the natural tendency of triggering their powers whenever they were startled, immortal children could also set the aforementioned booze aflame. Especially those with an affinity towards fire, like… Var did.

Watching his wife walk towards their room, Keiichi couldn't help but smile as the sight clearly reminded him of their earlier life in Nekomi. Back then, Mara used to visit a bit more frequently, and in many ways Urd was far more carefree than now. Of course that was to be expected to a certain degree, since her job as an administrator is far more demanding and requires a lot more responsibility than working in a bike shop. Which also gave Keiichi an idea, but that would've to wait until he got a chance to talk to Urd later. For the time being, the dark haired god wanted to make sure that Hild wasn't planning anything too… disruptive. Although in her defense, the Daimakaicho knew when a joke went too far, and refrained from causing a commotion, especially during her visits in Asgard.

"Um… hello, mother. Var's in her room, so…"

"Yes, yes, I'll get there in a minute, Keiichi-kun," said Hild before she landed on the floor and approached him. "But before that, why don't you tell me how you're holding up?"

"Pretty well, actually," said Keiichi with a smile, as he relaxed a bit. It felt strange for the most powerful demoness to spend her valuable time checking on her son in law, but some reason Hild took her role a bit more seriously than most other immortals. Then again, not many of them married their daughters to someone who originally was a mortal, and as such most of his relatives weren't going to stick around for far too long. Even if it didn't seem too much, just the fact that he could talk to someone outside of his immediate family about his problems and occasional frustrations at adapting to an unfamiliar lifestyle was more than enough in Keiichi's opinion. "Work at the Debugging department can be a bit tedious at times, but I've started to get the hang of it and perhaps I might be able to move to a different post."

"That sounds a lot better than my last visit," said Hild with an amused grin, as she tilted her head to the side and scratched her chin. "What about the girls? Are they still giving you trouble?"

"Yes, but… in a way it's actually a good thing," said Keiichi with a chuckle. "It's much better to have them keep my and Urd's life busy and exciting. Things would've been far too dull if everything was quiet around here. Of course, if I have to be honest about it, Sjofn is really doing a great job at taking care of her little sister, and that display of responsibility makes me feel much better about the prospect of letting her go out on a date with a god or goddess of her choice."

"Oh? She's got a lover already?" asked Hild as she raised an elegant eyebrow at the news, but Keiichi simply shook his head dismissively.

"No, I don't think so. Aside from a few drinking partners and a few friends she's got since we came here, Sjofn has yet to find someone she'd take as a lover. Although… she did kind of experiment a bit at a couple of times," said Keiichi as he became increasingly nervous while recalling one of the most infamous incidents of the last decade. "Let's just say that… Urd didn't like it; _at all_. It's kind of funny, since I used to be the one who worried the most about Sjofn's misadventures."

"Ah… the joys of motherhood…" laughed Hild, as she gave Keiichi a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'll talk to her. Someone needs to remind my knucklehead of a daughter that back when she was about the same age as our Sjofn… she did a lot worse than my poor granddaughter."

"Just go easy on her, though," said Keiichi with a small frown. "She's under a lot of stress as of late and I don't want her to end up in an argument with you over Sjofn's upbringing."

"I'll see what I can do, Keiichi. Although… I think that Urd needs a way to unwind a bit. As much as it makes me happy to see her try to take care of you household, Urd isn't exactly the type to find such a role all that fulfilling. You need to give her some opportunities to relax without worrying too much about what's going on around her."

"Actually, I do have an idea for something that's going to let her spend a lot more time with her favorite hobby," said Keiichi as his whole face light up, even though he was a bit nervous since he needed Hild's help and he had no idea whether she was going to agree or not. "Although… I really need a couple of things to turn that into a reality."

"Hm… you've got my attention, so… what do you have in mind? Details, please."

"Well…"

XXX

A few hours later, Keiichi left Hild and Sjofn have some 'girl talk' after they've managed to put Var to bed, but not before they had to read her a couple of stories. As a matter of fact, Hild brought a new book from the mortal realm for her youngest granddaughter to enjoy, and even read most of it to her, since Var's limited access to Yggdrasil prevented the young goddess to read anything written in a mortal language.

Still, the dark haired god couldn't help but feel giddy, knowing that his plan was likely to become reality now that he got Hild's permission. 'That sure went a lot smoother than I've hoped for. Not that Hild would've missed an opportunity to help Urd, but still… given her job, there's a certain limit on how far she can go in terms of granting favors.'

Taking a seat on his sofa, Keiichi briefly considered checking if there's anything interesting on the TV, until a pair of arms wrapped around him and a soft voice whispered to his ear. "Ke-ii-cchi…"

Resisting the urge to jump, mostly due to old habits that he still hadn't completely gotten rid of, Keiichi craned his neck to look back at his somewhat tipsy wife. "Let me guess… you won. Again."

"Heh! Were you expecting any less of me? Ma-chan thinks she can get me drunk, but… she's the one snoring like a baby in our room," said Urd with a slight slur, and then nuzzled her face against the nook of his neck. "Which… means we can get a little _creative_ tonight," purred the half goddess as she pressed her ample bosom against the back of her husband's head.

"U-Urd! We can't do _that_ in the living room!" protested the blushing god, trying to talk some sense to his inebriated wife. 'Say what you will, but Mara's really gotten you drunk this time.'

However, instead of pressing on, Urd simply slumped next to him and seemed rather tired; and not just from the after effects of drinking all that booze. "Ugh… you're right. I guess I need to take something for the hangover and get some sleep."

"Not so fast, Urd." Turning around as far as he could given the circumstances, Keiichi wrapped an arm around the goddess' waist and flipped her over the sofa and right onto his lap. Which turned out to be a moment of poor judgment since he didn't take their furniture's age into account. As a result, the already decades old sofa finally decided that it had had enough and gave away with a satisfying crack. " _Oof!_ "

Despite her surprise when she ended up on the floor together with Keiichi, the bronze skinned goddess started laughing and then pulled her still dazed husband in a tight hug. " _Ha! We did it! We broke the stupid sofa! Oh, I'm totally gonna brag to Peorth about it! Honor badge, baby!_ "

'Just what are they doing up in the control room, while we toil in the server rooms hammering those bugs?…' pondered the somewhat miffed god, but soon pushed such thoughts aside and began to chuckle at their current predicament. "I guess it's time for someone to cut the snacks… Eh, Urd?"

"Careful there, buster!" said the half goddess with a grin, knowing all too well that her husband was actually aware that immortals don't actually gain weight. "If I have nothing to sink my teeth into, then I might… try _you_ instead."

Helping her up, Keiichi did his best to rebuild the sofa, as it was a nice opportunity to demonstrate that he actually learnt a thing or two since they arrived here. However, that was also an equally good chance to tell her what he's been planning for the last couple of weeks. "Say, Urd? I was wondering... You keep stockpiling those potions of yours, but most of your jars are almost full."

"I know… I hardly get an opportunity to use the darn things anymore, so… I dunno, I kind of like making them, but… as it is, they're just useless."

"Which is why I wondered if you'd like to…" started Keiichi, but never got to finish that sentence as Urd apparently reached a conclusion of her own.

"You don't have to say it. I'll start getting rid of them first thing tomorrow," said Urd as she let out a disappointed sigh and visibly deflated at that idea. Still, she knew that it was likely for the best, since Var was getting too curious about them, and therefore her hobby was starting to become something dangerous for her family.

"No, wait! That's not what I meant, Urd!" protested Keiichi, putting his hands in front of him to stop her from further misunderstanding what he said. "What I had in mind was to start selling them. You know… open a shop for you and that way not only you can keep making, but you can also profit from your hobby, too!"

"That's not gonna work! Who in their right mind would want _my_ medicine?" asked the baffled goddess of the past.

"First of all, they're not _that_ bad! Well… some are a bit… strange at times, but for the most part, they do their job. Especially when their effect is needed. And I know that you need something fun to do once again, instead of just working as an admin full time!"

For a while, all Urd could do was stare at her husband and try to recall just how much she drank earlier. Ruling out the possibility that she was so drunk that she started to imagine things, Urd made an attempt to understand how a perfectly rational god like Keiichi came up with such a crazy idea. "I may be pointing the obvious here, but… Do you have any idea just how many alchemy shops we've got here? Even if we open a shop… why would anyone prefer ours over the rest of them?"

"Because you'll be able to make stuff they cannot, that's why!" said Keiichi as he gave his wife a wink. "I've heard how hard it is to get certain ingredients from Niflheim and if _you_ get a decent supply of them, you'll be able to make one batch after the other, while others will have to wait for weeks before they even get their hands on the necessary ingredients. Besides… you can even produce certain formulas that we've got to import from Niflheim because the others cannot use demonic energy to further refine those potions. But… _you_ can, right?"

"Y-Yes, I… can. But there's no way I'll get my hands on enough ingredients to make a whole line of products!" said the stunned Urd as the idea started to grow on her, but she desperately tried to keep herself from getting too hyped up, since this wasn't going to work. "There's some pretty stringent restrictions when it comes to trading rare ingredients, Keiichi. I'll never get the needed permit to import the needed amounts of ingredients to locally produce demonic potions."

"Oh, really now? I've asked father and he said it's okay as long as your mother is fine with it. So… I've asked her too, and… guess what? She's got no problem as long as nobody else gets their paws on them; aside from you that is," said Keiichi with a proud grin.

" _No way!_ You… you've done… _what?_ " It took Urd a few seconds to register just what happened and then grabbed Keiichi in a tight hug that ended up in a pretty deep kiss. One that lasted for longer that it would've been safe for a mortal, although thankfully Keiichi was no longer affected by simple things like the need to… breathe.

"I guess I'll take this as a _yes_ ," said the dazed Keiichi as soon as Urd let go of him. "So, I'll get to start the preparations to remodel our shop so that we can sell your potions. Oh, and get a business permit, register it, apply for a safety certification… Ugh… they sure love their bureaucracy here."

"You have no idea. Although, I'd rather prefer if you leave our shop the way it is," said Urd with a shake of her head. "I'm rather fond of that place, so, we'll just make a new one next to it."

"That should work just fine!" said Keiichi with a huge smile. "And while we're at it, I think I've got you two extra assistants, aside from myself!"

"You don't mean... Our girls?" said Urd as her eyes widened in surprise.

"Why not? It's the perfect opportunity for Sjofn to get to know people during her part time job, and Var really loves alchemy. It's a pity if you discourage her from pursuing what she likes, just because she's still young. Just take her under your wing and I think that she's going to follow your instructions to the best of her ability. She's a smart girl, after all! Both of them are, so stop babying them and give them a chance to prove that they can do it."

"You know what?" asked Urd after a few moments of thinking about it. "I think that the next few years will be really interesting. If nothing else, it'll give all of us something to break the monotony of our primary jobs."

"Hey, I can come up with good ideas from time to time, you know!" said Keiichi, as he started to relax knowing that his efforts finally paid of. But in the end, the smile it brought on Urd's face was totally worth all the trouble to set everything up. "So… how we tell everyone first thing tomorrow? We sure will need a few helping hands to set our second shop up!"

"Yes! Just like the good old times!" said the now excited Urd. And while she and Keiichi started to discuss the details about their new shop, Hild and Sjofn who were secretly spying on them, gave each other a thumbs up.

It was often said that with every beginning, there always comes an end. Yet as long as people kept dreaming, a new beginning would always arrive.

* * *

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

I would also like to thank ObeliskX for the initial suggestion for a reverse harem setting that led to this story.

And… this is it! I must admit that I had a lot of ideas about the epilogue, but in the end I've felt that most of them were either too obvious or just an excuse to wrap things up and get it done with. However, I really wished to give this story a rather satisfying end and in my opinion, going for something a bit more ambitious was absolutely necessary.

In all honesty, this whole chapter counts not only as an epilogue but almost as a one shot story within a larger one. I went ahead to introduce Urd and Keiichi's daughters, which was something that may seem unnecessary to some, since it's the final chapter. Yet, I really wanted to give a version of what was likely to happen after the end of the story, and not just a totally open ended and generic conclusion that leaves more questions than answers.

Yes, there were some sobering parts thrown into the mix, to address certain aspects of their lives, instead of pointedly ignoring those for the sake of keeping it all lighthearted, but I think that the way I handled those matters doesn't ruin the overall atmosphere.

So, there it is! I honestly hope that it was worth the waiting and it concluded the story in a satisfying manner. This is also the first multi chapter story I'm finishing, which only made me feel a lot more pressure to end it with something interesting.

I sincerely thank you for giving my story a fair chance, and I really hope you've enjoyed it!


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